City Manager Brad Miyake announced the appointment of Jerome “Jay” Hagen as chief of the Bellevue Fire Department. Hagen, who has more than 33 years of fire service experience, joins the City of Bellevue from the Seattle Fire Department where he is currently a deputy chief in the Operations Division. Hagen will begin his new position on Monday, May 14.
Hagen began his fire service career as a firefighter with the Missoula City Fire Department in Missoula, Montana in 1986. He then joined the Seattle Fire Department in 1988, moving up within the department over the years including as firefighter, lieutenant, captain, and battalion chief, deputy chief and assistant chief in the operations division. At Seattle, Hagen is deputy chief of a fire department with more than 1,000 uniformed and civilian employees.