Lieutenant Allen Green of the Chattanooga Fire Department has been named the 2026 Company Officer of the Year, an honor recognizing his outstanding leadership, innovation, and steadfast commitment to community service.
For Green, the award represents more than professional excellence–it reflects a life dedicated to transforming adversity into opportunity and using education as a tool to save lives.
Raised in foster care and group homes with the support of Bethel Bible Village, Green understands firsthand the challenges many young people face. After graduating from Hixson High School, he enrolled at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to study chemistry. When his twin sons were born, he put his education on hold to provide for his family, a decision that ultimately led him to the Chattanooga Fire Department.
More than a decade later, Green fulfilled his goal of earning his chemistry degree from UTC while serving as a firefighter, demonstrating the perseverance that has become a hallmark of his career.
Today, Green serves as a fire and life safety educator, where he has helped redefine community risk reduction by focusing on prevention through education. Using research and data to identify neighborhoods at greater risk for residential fires, he develops outreach initiatives that equip families with life-saving knowledge before emergencies occur.
His signature initiative, Read to Succeed, combines literacy with fire safety education. Each month, Chattanooga firefighters visit elementary schools to read with students while teaching essential fire prevention lessons and building positive relationships with children.
The program holds special significance for Green because it began at Calvin Dunson Elementary School–the same school he attended as a child–bringing his journey full circle.
Recognizing the need for engaging educational resources, Green authored the children’s book, Mom! Dad! What Should I Do?, published in 2025. The book teaches families how to develop home fire escape plans, establish outdoor meeting places, and understand the importance of working smoke alarms.
Featuring diverse characters that reflect Chattanooga’s communities, the book encourages children to see themselves not only as learners but also as future first responders. Proceeds support Green’s literacy initiatives and nonprofit organization, PPCH, Inc. (Pain, Perseverance, Character, Hope), which mentors at-risk youth.
Green’s community involvement extends beyond the classroom. Through PPCH and volunteer work with organizations including Bethel Bible Village and Barger Academy of Fine Arts, he has mentored countless young people, helping them overcome obstacles much like those he faced growing up.
His outstanding work previously earned him the Ralph Cothran Civil Service Fire Fighter of the Year Award.
Green’s influence also reaches beyond Chattanooga. As a leader with the Sound Off Initiative, he works with national fire safety advocates to promote working smoke alarms and improve fire safety outreach, particularly for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. He regularly speaks at universities, career fairs, conferences, and fire departments across the country, sharing innovative strategies for community engagement and prevention.
Despite his national recognition, colleagues describe Green as a humble servant leader who invests deeply in his crew, mentors aspiring firefighters, and remembers the children he meets through school visits.
“Teaching and educating, for me, is like a ministry,” Green has said. “It’s not just about giving out information. It’s about implementing change and growth.”
The 2026 Company Officer of the Year Award recognizes Green’s vision of modern fire service leadership: one that extends beyond emergency response to include education, mentorship, prevention, and lasting community impact.
By turning his own life experiences into opportunities to uplift others, Lieutenant Allen Green continues to demonstrate that the greatest leaders don’t simply answer the call–they inspire others to rise with them.