He comes to a department with about 30 firefighters, including six lieutenants and a fire marshall, far less than the 120-member department at Miramar. When people ask me about coming to a small department, it's not. It's not any different than Miramar. The service we provide is the same service. He believes traditional fire departments don't exist anymore because they have assumed more responsibilities.
Fire departments are now in emergency management.
With that in mind, he is creating a five-year plan to outline goals and needs for the fire department. It's a plan that could address how the department must deal with the impending build-out of the island city officials predict will come within 10 years. One of the things we need to concentrate on is a very proactive community presence and organizational structure that provides for the important decision-making processes quickly. Refining the organizational structure of the fire department is a major issue he is examining. The officers are good leaders, and they know how to make command decisions.