The City of Santa Clara Fire Department has promoted Jenn Panko to Battalion Chief, making her the first female chief officer in the organization’s history.
Panko began her career with the department in 1997, was promoted to Driver Engineer in 2004, to Fire Captain in 2007, and began serving on the Command Staff in temporary duty assignments in 2016. With her new role as EMS Battalion Chief, she has served in four of the department’s divisions throughout her 25-years. Panko spent most of her career in the Field Operations Division and served ten years as a truck company officer specializing in technical rescue operations. While serving as Battalion 92 in Field Operations, she managed shift personnel across ten fire stations and commanded multi-unit emergency responses.