German fire department tactical units/hierarchy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_fire_services

A fire lieutenant's position is a step above a regular firefighter--the lieutenant is still responsible for responding to fire and other emergencies in his community, but has the additional responsibility of supervising other firefighters, engineers and officers. As a result, a fire lieutenant may earn a higher salary. He must have a strong work ethic and be a reliable worker in order to gain the position.
A fire lieutenant works under the fire captain, and is responsible for supervising other firefighters and fire engineers when working at a fire scene or other emergency. He organizes and supervises the day-to-day tasks at the fire station, and also provides training on safety procedures and fire equipment to firefighters and engineers. When an emergency arises, the lieutenant is responsible for utilizing the fire and rescue equipment, as well as providing emergency medical treatment to victims as necessary. He also assists with employee training and evaluation, and may be responsible for preparing and presenting educational lectures for the public as well.
http://www.ehow.com/about_6303014_job-description-fire-lieut...

The basic US fire department unit is a small unit called a "company" (under a lieutenant or captain depending upon rank structure) which is equivalent to a commonwealth "watch" (under a sub-officer). A US fire captain is thus often equivalent to a commonwealth sub-officer, and a US fire lieutenant to a commonwealth leading firefighter. In many fire departments in the USA, the rank of captain or lieutenant are both used to denote the most junior fire officer at the company level. There is no state or federal rank structure for firefighters and each municipality or volunteer fire department creates and uses their own unique structure.
Still some other American Fire Departments such the FDNY use military rank insignia in addition or instead of the traditional bugles. Additionally, officers on truck companies have been known to use rank insignias shaped like axes for Lieutenants (1) and Captains (2).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefighter