Stephen Charles has served the District since 1985 and has served as Fire Chief of the Berthoud Fire Protection District for over 30 years.

Chief Charles has an A.A.S. degree in Fire Protection and Fire Science in addition to Executive Fire Officer from the National Fire Academy.   He holds Emergency Management Institute / FEMA “Emergency Management, Professional Development Series” and is a member of the Eastern Colorado, Type III All – Hazard Incident Management Team responding to several major incidents.

Chief Charles has an extensive background as an instructor and instructs National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS) courses for the Urban Area Security Initiative, Division of Fire Prevention and Control, The BlueCell, Inc and Department of Homeland Security.  He currently holds a “Colorado State Board for Community Colleges and Occupation Education Credential for Career and Technical Education” certification.

Additionally, he currently serves as the Chairman for the Larimer Emergency Telephone Authority (LETA) Board and has previously consulted for the Georgia based company National Fire Services Office preparing fire departments for their audit by the Insurance Services Office. He has assisted fire departments in several states in lowering their Insurance Services Office Public Protection Classification. 

Prior to entering the fire service, Chief Charles experienced a successful 10 year tenure as a law enforcement officer in California and Colorado. He served as a patrol officer for 5 ½ years and a criminal investigator for 4 ½ years specializing in crimes against persons. He served on the Larimer County Special Weapons and Tactical team for 4 ½ years.

He has been married to his lovely wife Marlene for over 50 years. They have three children and six grandchildren.