SANTA ANA : City Hires Fire Chief Away From Fullerton

The fire chief from neighboring Fullerton has been chosen to fill that position in Santa Ana and will move into his new job by July 1.

Based on a recommendation by the city manager, the City Council on Monday confirmed the appointment of Marc Martin, 43, to succeed Fire Chief Allen R. (Bud) Carter, who retired in December but stayed on until a replacement could be found.

Martin said his biggest challenge will be maintaining the high level of service provided by the Santa Ana Fire Department.

“It’s not a matter of me reforming the system,” he said, “but of me fitting into the system.”

In Fullerton, Martin said, he oversaw 78 firefighters and was paid $93,000 a year. The Santa Ana department is much larger, with about 250 firefighters.

City Manager David N. Ream said Martin will get “a substantial increase” in salary but would not say how much. The salary cap for the fire chief position is $115,000 a year, officials said.

The Fullerton Fire Department was shaken by some controversy during Martin’s tenure. An investigation by the U.S. Justice Department found that, from 1986 to 1993, none of the 19 firefighters hired by Fullerton were members of minorities, and warned that the city could face a federal civil rights lawsuit if it did not alter its personnel practices.

Martin, who joined the Fullerton department 21 years ago and has been fire chief since 1992, has said that three of six firefighters hired since 1994 were Latino.

Santa Ana Mayor Miguel A. Pulido Jr., who is Latino, praised Martin’s hiring record and welcomed him to the city.

“We can only judge the guy based on what he has done on his watch,” Pulido said, “not what has occurred before.”