City Of Vernon Brings In L.A. County Fire Veteran Jim Enriquez As New Chief

VERNON, Calif., Sept. 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The City of Vernon announced today that Jim Enriquez was appointed as the city's new Fire Chief effective this month. Following his lengthy tenure in and around Los Angeles County, including nine cities and unincorporated Los Angeles County, Enriquez has overseen over 250 Fire Department personnel as Battalion Chief for various Southern California cities and served as Assistant Fire Chief for Los Angeles County.

As part of his duties, Enriquez will transition the Fire Department to Los Angeles County, a conversion approved by the City Council earlier this year. The city has already operated under mutual aid agreements with neighboring communities to facilitate fire services, so transitioning Vernon's four fire stations will have no visible impact to city businesses or residents, but will make better use of city resources. Enriquez will be responsible for reducing excessive overtime and operational costs, and train staff to prepare themselves for the L.A. County Fire transition.

"It is a significant milestone for the City of Vernon to appoint a leader with such embedded public safety experience in Southern California, and with the strong ethical values and reputation to match," said City Administrator Carlos Fandino. "We are confident that Chief Enriquez will coordinate the Fire Department's transition to L.A. County efficiently and with no perceptible change in the high standards of public safety our citizens and businesses have come to expect."

The city's appointment of Enriquez follows former Chief Bruce English's sudden retirement earlier this month when city leaders uncovered that English approved hundreds of thousands of misappropriated funds stemming from unmanaged vacation hours. Enriquez was chosen in part due to his experience with budget administration and fiscal sustainability, as well as his solid reputation for ethics and forward-thinking leadership. Some of Enriquez' initial actions following his appointment involved resolving the abuse of city funds and establishing procedures to prevent it from happening in the future.

About The City of Vernon
The City of Vernon is an industrial city of 5.2 square miles located several miles to the southeast of Downtown Los Angeles in Southern California. Vernon currently houses more than 1,800 businesses that employ approximately 55,000 people, serving as a vital economic engine in the region. Offering an environment uniquely friendly to business. Vernon is the home to industries including food and agriculture, apparel, steel, plastics, logistics and home furnishings.

SOURCE The City of Vernon

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED