New LAFD Chief is Sworn In

Los Angeles has its first Latino fire chief, as Ralph Terrazas was sworn in to the post Friday after the City Council unanimously approved his appointment.

Terrazas, 54, received a truckload of compliments from the council and Mayor Eric Garcetti, who nominated him in July. The South Bay native is seen as a capable manager who can modernize the department and recruit more women.

But the Los Angeles Fire Department faces a great deal of challenges. Councilman Mitch Englander mentioned a few of them before the council gave its approval: a 20 percent smaller budget, hundreds fewer firefighters than at the department’s peak and a brand-new recruiting process that reformed the old, allegedly nepotistic method.

“The building’s been burned down, the fire department’s been decimated,” Englander said. “We’re asking for a leader to rebuild.”

Englander, Garcetti and the Fire Commission searched for a new chief from across the nation, deciding on Terrazas, a Banning High School graduate who spent 31 years in the department, most recently as commander of 54 fire stations.

Terrazas said the department would be more modern in a year, embracing metrics as a way to speed up emergency responses. Using data to drive decisions is a priority of Garcetti’s.

“I want to bring stability. I want to bring to fruition the mayor’s vision of the mayor’s fire department,” Terrazas said.

The department is rethinking how it deploys its resources. Civilian dispatchers will replace sworn firefighters, who will be reassigned to jobs in the field, Terrazas said.

He opposes privatizing ambulances, however, as Los Angeles County’s fire department has done. He said doing so would incentivize responding to rich residents first – a position the union applauded.

Councilman Gil Cedillo thanked the new chief for being a role model for children across the county, naming specifically three high schools in Latino areas.

“You are setting a new example for public service,” Cedillo said.

Councilwoman Nury Martinez said in a statement that she was proud Terrazas is a Latino, but focused more on his “commitment to recruiting, supporting and mentoring female cadets.”

Terrazas will reintroduce a recruitment program that targets and mentors female athletes on local college campuses, a program he led in the 1990s. He said he’ll start recruiting across genders at high schools, following the police department lead.

Meanwhile, LAFD union President Frank Lima said his members were concerned only that Terrazas be competent, not what has background is.

“He’s a good pick,” Lima said.

For the union, ramping up hiring is the major priority. Lima said it would help address increased firefighter injuries and a higher rate of deaths caused by structural fires.