The South Bay will soon have its first woman fire chief.
Deena Lee, battalion chief for the El Segundo Fire Department, will step into the top spot early next month, succeeding Fire Chief Chris Donovan, who has led the city’s department since 2016.
Lee will take the helm Nov. 2.
“I am happy and humbled to be able to serve the city as fire chief,” Lee said in a Friday, Oct. 8, interview. Lee set her sights on the fire chief role two decades ago when she first began her training. That vow is now a reality, she said.
“I feel like I’m the right person at the right time,” Lee said. “It’s my destiny.”
The timing of Lee’s promotion to battalion chief in 2019 and then Donovan leaving two years later created an ideal path for her succession, she said. The outgoing Donovan had been helping Lee prepare to take over once he left.
Lee has worked with El Segundo Fire for 19 years. She joined the city in 2003 and was promoted to captain in 2007. In 2019, she became the South Bay’s first woman fire battalion chief.