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Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava recently announced updates to leadership within Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (MDFR).
The leadership changes are as follows, effective Aug. 1:
Raied Jadallah, Deputy Fire Chief, became the new director of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department. Chief Jadallah is a 26-year fire service veteran and has had a distinguished career with MDFR for the past 22 years. As the Deputy Fire Chief of Emergency Operations, Chief Jadallah oversaw 2,100 MDFR employees who provide vital services such as fire suppression, medical rescue services, and emergency services.
He also oversaw the Office of Emergency Management and since March 2020 had been tasked as the department’s Incident Commander for COVID-19 since March 2020, leading the county’s coordinated COVID response within MDFR. In 2021 he oversaw one of the most significant complex incidents in Miami-Dade’s history — the Champlain Towers South building collapse in Surfside.
Alan Cominsky, Fire Chief, took on a new role as Miami-Dade County’s first Chief Fire Marshal. In the wake of the tragedy in Surfside, Miami-Dade continues to work aggressively to adapt and reform building safety standards — including moving from a 40- to 30-year recertification requirement, 25 years for properties within three miles of the coast.
The Chief Fire Marshal will help lead building safety efforts countywide, collaborating across county departments and with state and city stakeholders and working to streamline building inspection processes. Since joining MDFR in 1995, Chief Cominsky has served in every capacity with great distinction — including assistant fire chief for Technical and Support Services, MDFR’s Fire Marshal, division chief of Fire Prevention, division chief of South Operations, division chief of North Operations, and Hazardous Materials battalion chief.
He rose through the ranks of the organization and has held every civil service rank including firefighter, fire lieutenant, fire captain, and battalion chief.
“In just the last two years, Miami-Dade has weathered unprecedented challenges from COVID to the tragedy in Surfside — and our Miami-Dade Fire Rescue has been on the frontlines of our response efforts,” said Mayor Levine Cava. “I’m enormously grateful to Chief Cominsky for skillfully leading our first responders through these difficult times and for serving our community as Fire Chief, protecting the lives and wellbeing of our nearly 3 million residents. I look forward to the critical role he will play in helping reform and streamline Miami-Dade County building safety standards.
“I’m also proud to welcome Chief Jadallah — a veteran leader within Fire Rescue who guided our response to the unprecedented disaster in Surfside — to his new role at the helm of the department,” the mayor added.
“The men and women of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue are the very finest in the world. We do essential work not only in responding to disaster but ensuring the ongoing safety of buildings across Miami-Dade,” Chief Cominsky said. “Miami-Dade County has been leading the state in post-Surfside building standards, and I’m eager to take on this new role as we dedicate resources to ensuring these critical reforms can be implemented.”
“I am humbled by the distinct honor to be chosen and entrusted with the opportunity to lead Miami-Dade Fire Rescue,” said Chief Jadallah. “I have dedicated my life to the fire service and this responsibility is one that I will guard with a commitment and dedication to the residents of this County. It is only with the support and confidence of the MDFR family, this community, and our elected leaders that Miami-Dade Fire Rescue will continue to be one of the leading fire departments in the world.”
