The chaplaincy was established in 1995 and now serves all of the fire agencies in the greater Sacramento area. The purpose of the chaplaincy is to be the “First Responder to the First Responder”. Through a network of support resources the chaplaincy strives to meet the needs of the Firefighter and his or her family.

The chaplaincy also responds as a support service to the local community and fire personnel. Some of these services are to assist victims of fire along with the Red Cross for housing and transportation and to assist civilian personnel and fire personnel in the event of a serious injury or death. We visit the sick and injured in the hospital. Many other services are offered upon request including weddings and funerals.

As members of the urban search and rescue team in Sacramento, fire chaplains have been involved in the bombings in Oklahoma, the World Trade Center disaster, Hurricane Katrina, and most recently the earthquake in Haiti. The new year has brought about a few milestones for the chaplaincy. One is the birthday of the chaplaincy. This year it is 15 years old. Second is the retirement of our first full time senior Chief Chaplain. Chaplain Ward Cockerton is retiring after 13 years of service.

Chaplain Cockerton achieved several goals while serving as the Chief Chaplain. He instituted the training and use of the associate fire chaplain. These volunteer chaplains serve a vital role in meeting the needs of the community. Currently there are 15 associate chaplains of record serving the Fire Chaplaincy. He also created the program that trained associates in crisis intervention to assist the Fire personnel with 911 calls that involved serious injury or death to the civilian population. In 2009 the chaplaincy responded to 200 of those calls of service.

The Sacramento Area Fire Chaplaincy is a non-profit, non-denominational, religiously neutral corporation. The chaplaincy is governed by a board of directors. They are responsible for the planning, finance and policies of the chaplaincy. The chaplaincy is supported by the generosity of those it serves.

Jim Panora
Kevin Snider
Co-Chaplains
Fire Fighters Chaplaincy - Sacramento
4425 Dudley Blvd.
McClellan, CA. 95662
(916) 929-FIRE