Fejo, Dof1a Ana County fire chief finalist, emphasizes staffing, training and community engagement

Yvonne Fejo, deputy fire chief of Dof1a County and a finalist for the county's fire chief post, presented a 45-minute vision for Dof1a Ana County Fire Rescue and answered community questions during an external stakeholder session. Fejo said the department will focus on "readiness, resilience and trust" and on strengthening prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.

Fejo told attendees the county commissioned an agency evaluation and a standards-of-coverage study to guide decisions on station placement, staffing and training. "A standards of coverage allows us to identify what those emergency call types are, how frequently they're occurring, what time of day," she said, and those results will help create heat maps and training recommendations. She said the procurement was approved in June and the consultant work has used county GIS data and internal call-volume reporting.

The presentation described recent internal work: department workshops and a community engagement day produced an updated mission, vision and values; an internal department survey and a planned strategic plan will inform priorities; and staff are preparing public-facing reports when the consultant's agency evaluation and…