I’m pleased to let you know I have named Angel Montoya as Richmond’s next Fire Chief effective October 15. Chief Montoya brings over 30 years of exemplary fire service including serving as the County of Los Angeles Fire Department’s first-ever Bilingual Public Information Officer charged with the development and implementation of a bilingual information program. As the Deputy Fire Chief there, he provided direct leadership and accountability for over 2,600 personnel and 76 fire stations across multiple communities. His recent focuses included overseeing the emergency medical service (EMS) operations and the Special Services Bureau which included the Dispatch, Fleet Services, and Information Technology divisions.
What most impressed me as City Manager is Chief Montoya’s deep commitment to authentic and ethical service where his primary measure for anything related to the fire department is how well it serves the community. He believes the department only exists to serve the community and his goal is to ensure ethical and moral excellence from the entire department. He has a track record in successful collaborations and developing networks to improve relationships with labor, internal and external stakeholders, regional partners, and state and federal officials and oversight boards. He will build on his past successes and similarly well-serve our Richmond community.
While making this exciting announcement, I want to simultaneously thank Interim Chiefs Brian Kelly and Michael E. Smith for their service while we undertook a rigorous recruitment process, especially noting that Chief Smith’s recent partnership helping craft increased mental health crisis response has been much appreciated.
We look forward to finding multiple ways to introduce Chief Montoya to the community over the coming months.
