Colin Burress has been a dedicated member of the Memphis Division of Fire Services since September 1998. Throughout his career, he has advanced through several ranks — Fire Private (1998), Fire Driver (2001), Fire Lieutenant (2004), Fire Battalion Chief (2014), Division Chief (2017), and Assistant Fire Chief of Operations (2020).

Chief Burress’s experience includes Fire Suppression, Special Operations, Urban Search and Rescue with Tennessee Task Force One (TNTF-1), and work with the Office of Emergency Management. He currently serves as a Task Force Leader for TNTF-1 and is a member of FEMA’s Blue Incident Support Team.

He serves on the Executive Board of the Fire Museum of Memphis and holds memberships in the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the Tennessee Fire Chiefs Association, and the International Association of Fire Chiefs Urban Search and Rescue Committee.

Chief Burress is committed to community initiatives, having participated in programs such as the Operation Feed Campaign with the Memphis Food Bank, the State Fire Marshal’s Office Smoke Detector Program, the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, and the Vitalant Community Leadership Council.

An alumnus of Christian Brothers High School, Burress holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from LeMoyne-Owen College, a Master of Science in Operations Management from the University of Arkansas, and a Master of Arts in Homeland Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program (EFO) and the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ Fire Service Executive Development Institute (FSEDI) and holds the Chief Fire Officer (CFO) designation from the Center for Public Safety and Excellence (CPSE).