Brian Fennessy: San Diego's New Fire Chief

In September, Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced that San Diego’s next fire chief will be Brian Fennessy, who will take over for retiring Chief Javier Mainar this November. 

With over 38 years of experience in fire service - 13 of which were with the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management - Fennessy brings a unique perspective that can serve San Diego County in a positive way.

The Spark Ignites

Fennessy’s love for the fire service came early in his life. "It was something that really connected with me," Fennessy said. "I grew up watching LA County Fire and the US Forest Service fighting fires. I tell people that my aspiration as an 18 or 19 year old was that I wanted to run the chainsaw at the front of the Hot Shot crew. That was my goal in life." And he got there. Fennessy rose through the ranks. He got to run that chainsaw, he headed Hot Shot crews and eventually became a Helicopter Crew Superintendent where he was responsible for both personnel and aircraft.

"We had to live on the ground in some very austere conditions," Fennessy recalled about his time in the Forest Service. "We were really suffering through hardships. There were weeks without baths. When I was in Alaska I remember getting chased by bears, rolling rocks in the trees. It gave me a really good perspective on work ethic. Our mantra back then was ‘Nobody works harder than us.’"

Coming to San Diego

When Fennessy made the transition to San Diego Fire Department in 1990, he attributes the time he spent in the Forest Service to his success in the city. "When I came to a job where hard work was required in terms of spurts when you have these structure fires," said Fennessy, "I found myself being physically suited for it and mentally suited for it; and to this day there’s been nothing harder than what I used to do."

Fennessy was also expecting a vast change to city firefighting. "I thought I was making a career change," Fennessy said. "I imagined I would become strictly a structure firefighter and an EMT." But it soon became evident that the San Diego infrastructure was a recipe for wild land fires. "The city is built on canyon ridge; we’ve got a real fire problem here."

Diamonds are Formed Under Pressure

The Cedar Fire of 2003 really brought the reality of San Diego’s wildfire problem to the forefront. It was Fennessy’s experience and prior training that really let him shine during these operations, and it was his idea to start a helicopter program that ultimately assisted greatly in 2007’s extreme fires. "I obviously had a lot of help, but the concept was one that I brought forward," Fennessy said. "You kind of had to sell it to the fire chief, then the elected officials, and then the public. Because it always came back to, ‘Well, we never needed one before, why do we need it now?’ Well you did. You just didn’t know it."

It wasn’t long before the helicopter program proved to be an essential asset to the Fire Department. In 2007, the Harris Fire and the Witch Creek Fire burned almost 210,000 acres in San Diego County. The helicopter program assisted with evacuations, dropping water on crucial zones, and provided a vantage point that gave the crews an advantage during operations. "It was a great opportunity for me to take much of what I learned in my previous job as a wildland firefighter and apply it here," Fennessy said. "I ultimately became the go-to guy within the department about these wildland team assignments." Fennessy even acknowledges that he calls the San Diego Fire Department a wildland fire agency. "Yes, we are structure fire department and respond to medical aids and all these things. But we are also a wildland fire department. We operate helicopters and we have access to crews."

From Chainsaws to Chief

Next month, Fennessy will take up the Chief’s title and the authority that goes along with it. The future of the San Diego Fire Department will be determined by his decisions in the big chair. So what kind of changes can we expect to see in the coming years? "I really don’t see any need for a 180 degree turn; we’re doing a lot of things right," Fennessy said. But if there was a place where he thinks San Diego is currently falling short, it’s "our service gaps." He explained that there have been plans set into motion that will come to fruition under his watch. Most of them have to do with shortening the time that it takes the fire department to get to the emergency. "The time from when the dispatcher picks up the 911 call phone to the time we show up at your doorstep should take no more than 7 1/2 minutes, 90% of the time... We’re currently at about 70%." Fennessy described the plan includes the building of 19 more fire stations to accommodate the growth that San Diego has seen over the past decades. "Now we’re in a position where we’ve got about 8 of those fire stations at some level of design, finding land, and construction," Fennessy said.

Fennessy believes these new stations will help the fire department meet the expectations of the public who they interact with on a daily basis. "Most people will never call 911 in their lives," he said. "But when they do, something very awful has happened, and it could be the worst day of their lives." Fennessy explains that the public expects three things out of their fire department when they do call 911: "They expect that we get there quickly, that we know what we’re doing when we get there, and that we treat them and their family members with dignity."

The Fire Department and the Drought

Fennessy pick up the reigns during one of the worst droughts in California’s modern history. But he does believe the fire department is doing its part to help conserve water. "There’s a conservation piece that we’re following. If you look at any of our fire stations, all our lawns are dead." He admits that the fire department also does a lot of training where they tap into the city’s water supply via hydrants. "We’re very cognizant when we do that," he said. "We try to efficiently use that water; put it back onto the grass or back into the water source so that we’re not just spraying water and losing it." He calls on the fire captains to evaluate how important it is in training to always flow water. "Maybe cut that back. I think our captains are thinking about that now. Flowing water is important and it’s important to train on that, but is it necessary to train on that every day?"

But while steps can be made to conserve water, the drought has really done a number on San Diego’s wildfire climate. "Even if we get 100 inches of rain this winter, we’re still going to have a fire problem," Fennessy says. "When it rains, the grasses grow. We’ve gone so many years without rain, and there is so much dead brush in Southern California, that it doesn’t matter if it rains or not. That dead brush will be there until it is burned off."

How You Can Give Back

If you want to do your part to help the fire department be more effective against wildfires, then Fennessy has a couple suggestions. "Give us that 100 feet of defensible space if you live within a canyon. Have an escape plan. Be prepared, because if you’re already prepared you can self-evacuate and we can extinguish the fires. Many times, when people don’t, other people suffer because we’re not suppressing any fire - we’re in rescue mode - we’re going to be rescuing people. If there’s no one to rescue because they’ve already evacuated, then we can start putting the fire out. The longer it takes to put the fire out, the bigger it gets and the more people need rescuing."

If you want to contribute financially to the fire department and want to show your appreciation, Fennessy explains that there is a fundraiser underway to raise money for new Personal Escape Systems. These systems allow firefighters who are fighting structure fires in the second-story or higher to be able to safely bail out of a window if the fire becomes too intense. "Its a belt thats in your turnouts, and attached to it is a rope bag that sits in your pocket," said Fennessy. "In that pocket there’s a hook and a dissent device, so its as quick as, if you get in trouble, get to a window. You just put the hook on that ledge and throw yourself out."

Chief Fennessy is looking forward to assuming command of the San Diego Fire Department this November. From all of us at FINE Magazine, we wish him the best in his new position and want to thank the San Diego Fire Department for their service to our city.

To learn more about giving back to the fire station, corporate partnerships and other fundraisers, visit the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation.