Oxnard Fire Chief Choice Expected Soon : Public safety: Search leads to Randy Coggan, who worked as the top official of the Ventura County department from 1988 to 1990.

Despite being fired from his last job, former Ventura County Fire Chief Randy Coggan is expected to be announced as Oxnard fire chief today after a nationwide search that netted 60 applicants.

Coggan, who worked as the county’s top fire official from 1988 to 1990, was described by local firefighters as an energetic innovator who did not shy away from conflict.

“I think he was a fair guy,” said Capt. Ken Maffei, president of the county firefighters union. “He was a conciliator. He wanted to solve the problems and get on with business.”

Although Coggan, a former lawyer, was discharged last year from his position as fire chief in Redmond, Wash., his colleagues and residents there later organized rallies to support him. At the time, Redmond Mayor Rosemarie Ives, who had discharged Coggan, reportedly said she had philosophical differences with the chief over his willingness to let a region covered by his department accept fire protection from another district instead.

Coggan said he resigned as Ventura County fire chief because he was needed back home in Florida, where his father was ill and the family business was teetering on bankruptcy.

But some county officials said Coggan was not liked by the department’s top commanders and was unhappy with the less-than-friendly treatment he received.

“He came out here, and there wasn’t the camaraderie he was used to,” said one Ventura County fire officer, who asked not to be named. “I think that bothered him. We don’t play baseball and barbecue on weekends.”

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Oxnard has been without a fire chief since 1993, when Richard Smith left to become chief in Salinas after the City Council considered merging Oxnard’s police and fire departments. The merger was eventually scrapped after residents protested that it would compromise the quality of fire and police services.

Oxnard initially limited the search for Smith’s successor to within the Fire Department. But it later reopened the search, saying there were not enough qualified candidates in the city.

The other finalists for the job were George Truppelli, the fire chief in Cathedral City, and acting Oxnard Fire Chief Henry Lenhart. Both said Monday that they had not been notified of the final choice by City Manager Tom Frutchey. Frutchey did not return phone calls Monday.

The City Council will discuss Frutchey’s choice at noon today during a special closed-session meeting at the city’s Mandalay Bay Beach Resort. Coggan’s hiring should be announced today or later in the week, sources said.

Lenhart, who will return to his former job as Oxnard fire marshal after a chief is appointed, said Coggan was a sound choice.

“I think he’ll be an excellent fire chief,” Lenhart said. “He and I have always gotten along, and I look forward to working with him.”

Coggan, who is in his early 40s, entered firefighting in 1974 as a volunteer with the Prince George’s County Fire Department in Maryland.

After obtaining his law degree in Florida and working as an assistant state’s attorney, he joined the Metro Sarasota Fire Department in 1981, rising to assistant chief by 1987.

Coggan briefly worked in Florida’s Manatee County as public safety director before being appointed Ventura County fire chief. After leaving the county, he served as acting city manager in Naples, Fla., before moving to Redmond.

Bill Gallaher, president of the Oxnard Firefighters’ Assn., was part of a panel that interviewed Coggan and other finalists.

“He was a very energetic person that was able to present himself well,” Gallaher said. “I think he’ll be a great chief.”