SPEAKERS

June 15, 2026

Born and raised in the Tampa Bay area, Jason Dougherty has more than 25 years of experience and training in his various roles with fire departments in Georgia and Florida. Through ongoing professional development and certifications, he has steadily increased his professional skills, knowledge, and abilities. Before being appointed Fire Chief for Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, he held the positions of Deputy Chief of Administration and Deputy Chief of Operations.

As the Deputy of Administration, he managed a 260-plus million-dollar budget. As Deputy Chief of Operations, he led 1,200 sworn firefighters under his command, operating out of 8 Battalions spread across 47 fire stations. Prior to joining Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, Jason served as the Training Chief for Tampa Fire Rescue. While working through the ranks of Tampa Fire Rescue, he was a reserve officer and SWAT medic with the Tampa Police Department's Tactical Swat Team. These various roles have afforded him vast experience in managing medical scenes fire scenes, coordinating multiple teams of responders, managing records, applying and executing a variety of grants, including SAFER, AFG, and UASI grants, preparing annual budgets, presenting capital improvement projects, developing policies and procedures, ensuring his coworkers are trained and competent in order to effectively, efficiently, and safely execute on emergency scenes through a variety of training, procedures, and guidelines.

In addition to assisting in developing a non-profit organization, Friends of Tampa Firefighters, Jason served as the Treasurer/Secretary, organizing and managing the financial matters and approving the budget. As a Division Staff Chief, he worked on a variety of issues, such as promotional testing, educational symposiums, and memorial projects. Jason has been an instructor within the fire service and in the local Emergency Medical Services and Firefighter training programs, allowing him to pursue his educational values.

He has a Bachelor's Degree in Health Science and a Master's Degree in Organizational Leadership. In these roles, Jason has ensured that his knowledge remains current and that his team and department receive training and practices that reflect new standards and policies. He is a member of the IAFC’s Planning Committee and the IAFC Technology Council. As an instructor and administrator of training programs initiated within the fire service, Jason has developed and implemented numerous lesson plans, procedures, policies, and initiatives.

Jason's certifications include Fire Safety Inspector, Fire Investigator, Fire Service Instructor III, Live Fire Training Instructor, Pump Operator, Fire Office I and II, Hazardous Materials Technician, Chief Fire Officer, Fire Service Executive Development Institute, and Executive Fire Officer.
As a Chief Fire Officer, Jason is accustomed to being in an administrative and management role. Having gradually worked his way up through the various positions in the fire service, he is able to understand and experience the perspective of front-line workers and the responsibilities of being a supervisor, manager, and executive director.