Assistant Deputy Chief Niels Tangherlini

Assistant Deputy Chief Niels Tangherlini has been a paramedic since 1990, first working in Oakland, California before being hired by the City and County of San Franciso in 1994. In 1997, the Paramedic Division of the San Francisco Department of Public Health merged with the San Francisco Fire Department and Chief Tangherlini cross trained as a firefighter. Since that time, Chief Tangherlini has served on ambulances, fire engines, and worked as a field paramedic captain. Chief Tangherlini holds a bachelor’s degree in social welfare from University of California Berkeley and led the effort to start what is known as community paramedicine today. As a field paramedic captain, Chief Tangherlini responded to many large-scale Mass Casualty Incidents including a Light Rail Vehicle crash with 70 patients and the 2014 Asiana air disaster with over 200 patients. During his time as Emergency Medical Services Chief, Chief Tangherlini has turned his attention to the role technology can play in improving how EMS systems work.