Bakersfield fire chief highlights department experience, mutual-aid deployments and community programs

Chief Kevin Albertson, who has led the Bakersfield Fire Department as chief for about six months, told the Something Better podcast that the department’s decades of experience and regional deployments are an asset to the city.

"Bakersfield firefighters are some of the best firefighters in the world," Albertson said, adding that the department’s top priority is to "protect life." Albertson said he has worked in the Bakersfield department for roughly 26 years and served on a federal incident management team for about 16 years.

Albertson described helping to establish California USAR (urban search-and-rescue) Task Force 11, which recently responded to the Palisades fire, and he listed prior responses to Monterey and Montecito for mud and debris flows. He said those deployments provide training and knowledge that firefighters bring back to Bakersfield.

AJ Clark, the fire department public information officer, described the department’s hazmat capabilities. "We're a state 1 or a type 1 HAZMAT team," Clark said, noting that status allows the team to deploy statewide. Clark and Albertson said the HAZMAT program has grown and that personnel find different specialties within the department.

Albertson also described community-oriented work, including Bakersfield Firefighters Burn Foundation activities — supporting burn survivors with care not always covered by insurance and participating in burn-survivor support programs and camps.

The episode framed the department’s regional roles and local outreach as mutually reinforcing: experience on large incidents improves local response, and community programs keep firefighters connected to residents. The podcast concluded with thanks and a request that listeners subscribe for future episodes.