County Fire Chief Picked for Top Job in Seattle

Ventura County Fire Chief James Sewell, who said he has long coveted a big city job, got his wish Thursday when he was picked to head the Seattle Fire Department.

Seattle Mayor Norm Rice selected Sewell, 48, to become the city’s new fire chief following a nationwide search that included a pool of 61 candidates. Sewell’s appointment must still be approved by the City Council, but officials said they expect his confirmation to go smoothly.

Rice said he chose Sewell because of his 28 years experience in firefighting, serving at different times with the Chula Vista, San Diego and Ventura County fire departments.

“Because Jim Sewell worked his way up through the ranks, he knows what the men and women on the front lines go through and what they need to do their jobs,” Rice said. “And as a manager, Chief Sewell has demonstrated a real commitment to innovation and creating a work environment that fosters and supports a diverse work force.”

Sewell will replace Seattle Fire Chief Claude Harris, who retired in December after 37 years with that city’s department.

“This is a very exciting challenge,” said Sewell, who was informed of his selection by Rice. “Seattle is one of the premier fire departments on the West Coast.”

As the city’s new chief, Sewell will be in charge of an 1,100-employee department with an annual budget of $76 million. His base salary will be $106,000 a year--or about $3,000 more than his current county salary.

By comparison, Sewell now oversees a 453-employee county fire department with a yearly budget of $52 million. The department covers Camarillo, Moorpark, Ojai, Port Hueneme, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks as well as the unincorporated areas--which combined represent a population of about 450,000.

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If his nomination is confirmed by Seattle officials, Sewell said, he could assume his new post by next month. The chief, who was hired by Ventura County after serving 24 years in the San Diego Fire Department, said he has mixed emotions about leaving the department he has headed for the last three years.

“This has been a great place to work,” he said. “It’s an excellent department. Some people call me foolish for walking away.”

But some county officials said Sewell, who has been the subject of some controversy here, may be better suited for the Seattle job.

Indeed, one county supervisor described Sewell as a progressive chief who found himself amid a mostly conservative county department, someone who ran up against strong resistance for trying to bolster the number of women and minorities in the firefighting ranks.

“He was rather liberal in that he made sure that people had a fair chance at jobs,” said supervisors’ Chairman John K. Flynn. “That was important to him, and that’s important to me. I admired him for it. But it’s not easy to integrate these firehouses. He had to take a lot of heat for it.”

Last year, Sewell was accused by some of his personnel of operating a quota system after he canceled a Firefighter Academy class because it did not have enough cadets who were women or minorities. Sewell also raised the ire of some department employees when he removed station house signs that used the word “firemen” and replaced them with plaques referring to “firefighters.”

But Sewell defended both actions, saying that in the first instance, he wanted to further integrate the department so that it more closely reflected the community it served. He said no one had been given special treatment in the hiring process. The department now has 66 minorities and 14 women.

As for replacement of departmental signs, Sewell said they were simply “outdated because they referred to a single gender.” He said no personnel ever complained to him directly about the change.

“I would agree with the assessment that some of the things I was trying to do in a conservative department have been difficult,” he said. “Changing the way we do some things has been very difficult. But I don’t know if I’d call myself a liberal. I’m not sure I know what the definition of a liberal is.”

During his tenure, Sewell also took some criticism for his decision to return to a red department truck fleet. Some firefighters said the current yellow trucks are what distinguish the department and they resent the conversion.

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Sewell said he believes that returning to red firetrucks would help boost public confidence in the department by presenting a more traditional image. He said the yellow vehicles are slowly being replaced with red ones as new purchases are made, and that no additional money was being spent to implement the program.

The chief said he is pleased overall with his job performance and the fact that he leaves the department in good standing.

“It’s not like I’m leaving town under duress,” he said. “The place is not in shambles. It’s just that my interest has always been with a big city department.”

Sewell’s departure was greeted with mixed emotions by fire personnel, who have seen three chiefs come and go in 10 years.

“We’re very happy for him,” Deputy Chief Bob Roper said. “This is kind of a big plum going to work for a major metropolitan department. It speaks well of his qualifications.”

Fire Capt. Ken Maffei, who also serves as president of the employee union, said firefighters were not particularly surprised by news of the chief’s leaving.

“This has gotten to be so commonplace that it’s like, ‘Oh, we’ve got rid of another chief, big deal,’ ” Maffei said.

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Asked to assess Sewell’s performance, Maffei said: “I wouldn’t say he’s the best. But I’d say he’s above average. He’s done a decent job.”

Still, Maffei said he hopes the next fire chief will be someone who will stick around for more than two or three years.

“We’ve been without any long-term continuity for so long that everybody’s getting tired of it,” he said. “We need someone who is going to make a commitment to stay and set some long-term goals and objectives and work toward achieving them.”

County officials said it is too early to discuss their plans to replace Sewell, or even whether the next chief would come from within or outside the department.

Flynn said Roper would most likely be asked to serve as interim chief until county supervisors decide on Sewell’s replacement. In fact, Flynn said, Roper himself might make a good candidate for the job.

“He has a good attitude and some history with the department,” Flynn said.

Roper, 41, has been with the department for 17 years and said he would be interested in the job.