City of Flat Rock, MI

James H. Katona
Fire Chief

James H. Katona was sworn in as Flat Rock's Fire Chief and Civil Defense Director in January of 2020 to lead the Flat Rock Fire Department of full-time and paid-on-call firefighters into this new decade.

Raised on the west side of Detroit, Chief Katona always wanted to be in fire service. As a youth, he spent many hours hanging out at the neighborhood fire station. Chief Katona started in the fire service in 1990 as a paid-on-call firefighter before starting his career with the City of Flat Rock. Throughout his career in the fire service he has achieved the titles of Sergeant, Lieutenant, Assistant Chief, Deputy Chief, Fire Inspector, Fire Instructor, Paramedic Instructor and Emergency Manager. After a short retirement, Katona committed to lead the Flat Rock Fire Department with professionalism, passion, integrity, and courage using a "family concept", providing the citizens of Flat Rock and their guests with state-of-the-art full-service Fire and Emergency Medical Service.

Chief Katona enjoys motorcycle riding during his time off, taking short road trips throughout the state.

Chief Katona is available for your questions or concerns weekdays at City Hall by appointment, telephone, or text message at 734-626-0136, or at jkatona@flatrockmi.org