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Along with the high points also came various challenges and Smith pointed to the fallout from the recent economic downturn as having an adverse impact on staffing. “Our personnel went from 69 total members down to 49,” he said. “This level of staffing has not existed in the El Segundo Fire Department since the 1950s when the area east of Sepulveda was mainly open fields. These staff reductions occurred through layoffs, early retirements, attrition, and four members leaving to serve in other fire departments.” Smith noted that the City Council considered even further cuts during the height of the recession and that the uncertainty inevitably affected employee morale as well as the ability to provide services. “The demand for service is increasing with this city’s growth and development, so the challenge has been to prioritize the services we are capable of providing with the resources allotted that will serve the community in the best possible way. My recommendation moving forward is for the City to focus on ways to restore the capability of the Fire Department to previous levels and ideally bolster staffing levels to address El Segundo’s continued growth and potential for high-risk and low-frequency emergencies.” The City’s growth is just one of many changes Smith witnessed over the course of his career. For one thing, computers did not exist in fire stations when he began working here in 1985. “We are now reliant on computers for most of our non-emergency operations and some of our emergency operations,” he said. Additionally, firefighters of today must assume greater responsibilities than ever before. “When I joined the department, the primary focus was being capable of handling fires and emergency medical incidents. We have since evolved to be capable of addressing incidents involving hazardous materials, terrorist threats and urban search and rescue, just to name a few.” Another change since the ‘80s is that the El Segundo Fire Department now places considerable effort into fire prevention by conducting annual occupancy inspections of all businesses and most apartment buildings in town in hopes of reducing the frequency and severity of fires. And the landscape of the community itself is markedly different from the time Smith started out. “Large portions of the land east of Sepulveda were undeveloped when I began work here,” he explained. “Now as we are all aware, the land in El Segundo is nearly completely built out. Obviously the Fire Department is required to provide emergency and non-emergency services to protect all of those who live, work and visit our city. But this small town now contains most of the fire protection and prevention challenges of a major metropolitan city. These include 23 high-rise buildings, numerous high-tech industries using hazardous materials, railroad lines, a growing number of hotels, a petroleum refinery, a power generating plant, large amounts of high-density office space, and a commuter light rail system. Additionally we are immediately adjacent to an international airport, another power generating plant, a sewage treatment plant, and two freeways. This is a lot for a small town fire department to manage and be responsible for—especially with the decrease in staffing we have been subject to in recent years.” The staffing decreases as well as other factors prompted Smith a few years ago to publicly recommend transferring local fire suppression services to Los Angeles County even though such a move may have resulted in his own demotion and a likely transfer out of town. “It was a controversial subject and my position on it didn’t go over particularly well,” he said. “Ultimately, local voters [through the Measure P ballot initiative in 2012] made their preference known that they wanted to maintain an independent fire department as has always been the case in El Segundo. As much as it pained me to consider losing our autonomy as both the Fire Chief and a resident here, I truly believed going to County was in the best interests of the community and would have improved fire and paramedic services while also saving the City a significant amount of annual money. I still stand behind those words.” But ultimately El Segundo Fire Department stayed put and Smith was able to forge ahead and wrap up his career here. “I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve at a job that I have loved for 30 years,” he said. “I have been honored to serve alongside employees in El Segundo who consistently go above and beyond what would be expected to provide excellent service to this community. Also the vast majority of our community has been appreciative of the services that we provide and that makes the extra effort we make even more worthwhile.” With his retirement, Smith said he intends to focus on areas of his life he may have neglected over the years. He hopes to see more of his family (including two young grandchildren) and friends and to finally do some traveling to locales he never had the chance to visit as work consumed so much of his time and energy. Smith also plans to step up his efforts on the aforementioned six-string instrument. “I started taking guitar lessons a couple of years ago from a wonderful local teacher and I’m addicted to playing,” he said. “I am not the most musically talented guy out there, but I work hard at it.” Smith admitted that he will miss the people at the City as well as the interaction with community residents and businesspeople. In addition to his day job, he was also very active with the Rotary Club and heavily involved in outreach programs to enhance fire services in El Segundo’s Sister City of Guaymas in Sonora, Mexico. But ultimately the time was ripe to step away from everything even though he admitted that it will “feel a little weird” not coming to work—at least at first. “Candidly, leading this department through the period of turmoil over the past five or six years has taken an emotional toll on me,” he said. “It has been difficult to watch the erosion of the El Segundo Fire Department that I invested so much of my time, energy and heart into improving over the past many years. With that, I believe it is time for a change for me and the department. I will retire feeling that I have always endeavored to serve this city well. I will always be grateful for the opportunity I have had to serve in the City of El Segundo. And I hope for a brighter future for the El Segundo Fire Department and the City as a whole...” • KEEP IT LOCAL NEW LOWER RATES! 26 weeks (6 months) is only $400 52 weeks (1 year) is only $750 If you have any questions call us at 310-322-1830. 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