Bret Black hopes to finish out his firefighting career the way he started it: working hand-in-hand with both volunteers and professionals.
“That’s how I started my career — in what we call a combination department — and it’s how I had always hoped to cap my career,” Black said Monday after he accepted an offer to become the new chief of East Jefferson Fire Rescue (EJFR), which has 33 career firefighters and 40 volunteers, according to its 2019 annual report.
Black, 50, has served as chief of the Piedmont Fire Department in Piedmont, Calif., since October 2018. He is set to start in his new role Dec. 1. “I think everyone in the department is looking forward to getting a chief in place who can take us to the next level and make us a better department all the way around,” said Dave Johnson, chair of the department’s board of directors. “I think that’s what we’re getting with Chief Black.”