LONG BEACH -- A recent round of promotions at the Long Beach Fire Department has brought new members to the command staff that serves the department's new fire chief.
Long Beach Fire Chief Alan Patalano was selected for the top job last month. As of Thursday, three fire department members were promoted to the upper echelon of the department:
Deputy Chief of Operations Mike Sarjeant,
Assistant Chief of Operations Mike DuRee,
Assistant Chief of Support Services Chris Albers.
The trio joins Deputy Chief of Fire Prevention Jeff Reeb and Deputy Chief of Support Services Mike Garcia.
Sarjeant and DuRee both recently served as Battalion Chief 3 on different shifts and they are both replacing retiring members of the Long Beach Fire Department, said Capt. Jackawa Jackson, a fire department spokesman.
Albers was under-filling as a Battalion Chief in the Support Services Division and filling in as director training. His promotion will see him remain in the same department but with the higher rank, Jackson explained.
Exams to fill the two vacant battalion chief positions are expected sometime in the near future, the captain said.
Like the three men promoted Thursday, Patalano also promoted from within the department where he has served for more than 20 years.
The chief's most recent assignment was that of deputy chiefs, and Patalano had been running the department with the help of the other two deputy chiefs since former Fire Chief Dave Ellis' retirement last year.
"I don't envision any really sweeping changes," Patalano told the Press-Telegram at the time of his promotion. "I'm lucky to work with a department that is very efficient and very good about finding alternatives, especially with the current budget issues."
Long Beach Fire Chief Alan Patalano was selected for the top job last month. As of Thursday, three fire department members were promoted to the upper echelon of the department:
Deputy Chief of Operations Mike Sarjeant,
Assistant Chief of Operations Mike DuRee,
Assistant Chief of Support Services Chris Albers.
The trio joins Deputy Chief of Fire Prevention Jeff Reeb and Deputy Chief of Support Services Mike Garcia.
Sarjeant and DuRee both recently served as Battalion Chief 3 on different shifts and they are both replacing retiring members of the Long Beach Fire Department, said Capt. Jackawa Jackson, a fire department spokesman.
Albers was under-filling as a Battalion Chief in the Support Services Division and filling in as director training. His promotion will see him remain in the same department but with the higher rank, Jackson explained.
Exams to fill the two vacant battalion chief positions are expected sometime in the near future, the captain said.
Like the three men promoted Thursday, Patalano also promoted from within the department where he has served for more than 20 years.
The chief's most recent assignment was that of deputy chiefs, and Patalano had been running the department with the help of the other two deputy chiefs since former Fire Chief Dave Ellis' retirement last year.
"I don't envision any really sweeping changes," Patalano told the Press-Telegram at the time of his promotion. "I'm lucky to work with a department that is very efficient and very good about finding alternatives, especially with the current budget issues."
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