Unless it was the Chief, a firefighter would not keep his rank when moving from one state to another- and a Chief in Minnesota would lack the ability to transfer anyone outside of his department. This is a common error made usually on police shows. Since standards vary from state to state, a fire Captain in Minnesota would have to resign and then be hired and trained/certified in California. Once hired, he would not have the rank of Captain. He would have to work and promote just like any other fire fighter.