Meeting/Event Information

About the Speaker:

David currently serves as the Sarasota County Fire Chief. The Sarasota County Fire Department is an all-hazards response agency that provides fire suppression, emergency medical services (EMS) and special operations, including response to hazardous materials and technical rescue incidents to 425,000 permanent residents and visitors. SCFD protects over 472 square miles of land and is flanked by 37 miles of open shoreline along the Gulf of America. The SCFD service area includes unincorporated Sarasota County and the City of Sarasota. The SCFD maintains 593 firefighting personnel and 75 civilians for 688 total employees. SCFD responds to over 67,000 emergency incidents and transports over 38,000 patients to area hospitals annually from the 25 fire stations.

David began his fire service career with the Orange County Fire Rescue Department in 1989 where he served as firefighter, lieutenant, battalion chief, assistant chief, division chief and retiring as the deputy fire chief in January 2022. At the division chief position, David provided leadership in the logistics division, operations division, and planning & technical services division. Through David’s leadership the Orange County Fire Rescue Department remained accredited through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) and improved the Insurance Service Office (ISO) Public Protection Classification (PPC) from Class 4/8B to countywide Class 1.

David is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, The Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association, The National Fire Protection Association, and the Florida Fire Chiefs Association. He also serves as a peer reviewer for the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI), in which he assesses fire departments pursuing international accreditation. David’s experience in Orange County and that of a peer assessor assisted him with leading the Sarasota County Fire Department to become internationally accredited through CFAI in 2024. 

David holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Marketing and a Master of Public Administration. He is also professionally credentialed as Chief Fire Officer (CFO) through the Commission on Professional Credentialing of the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE). 

David is a second-generation firefighter that entered the fire service in 1989 after serving 4 years in the United States Navy where he served aboard the aircraft carrier USS America. David is married to his wife Michele and has 5 children and 10 grandchildren.

Topic : Sarasota County Fire Department: Organization, Operations, and Community Impact

Fire Chief David A. Rathbun will deliver a comprehensive presentation, providing an in-depth overview of the Sarasota County Fire Department. His remarks will highlight the department’s mission and core values, followed by key operational statistics that illustrate the scale and impact of service delivery. He will trace the history and evolution of the department, outline its organizational structure, and detail the wide range of services provided to the community. Chief Rathbun will also review the department’s resources, including personnel, apparatus, and facilities, and will discuss response performance metrics that guide deployment and operational effectiveness. The presentation will conclude with an overview of Fire Department funding sources and an open forum to address questions from attendees.