Long Beach Picks Fire Chief From the Ranks

Long Beach announced the appointment Tuesday of a new fire chief, who will have the daunting task of overseeing fire protection and most emergency responses at the Port of Long Beach in the nation’s busiest harbor.

Terry L. Harbour, a career Long Beach fireman who rose through the ranks of the third-largest fire department in Los Angeles County, said preparing for potential terrorism now looms largest on his agenda.

“It’s No. 1. We feel the port is the No. 1 target--the whole basin,” said Harbour, referring to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which share one shipping harbor.

The Long Beach department does not have a hazardous materials team, relying on Los Angeles County fire teams. But a disaster probably would occupy the county’s three teams. So Harbour will seek to staff a team at the Port of Long Beach with some of the $3.5 billion in homeland security funding President Bush announced earlier this week.

Harbour, 56, nicknamed Sawdust because he loves woodworking, was born in Long Beach, attended local schools and graduated from Long Beach City College and Cal State Long Beach, where he earned a degree in business administration.

“I majored in accounting,” he said, “but found I didn’t like it. A friend suggested I apply to Long Beach Fire.”

In 31 years, Harbour has worked as a paramedic, engineer, captain, battalion chief and assistant fire chief, and has run training and operations.

When Chief Skip Beck and his three top deputies announced their retirements last summer, Harbour and two others were named acting deputy chiefs. A national search led back to home-grown Harbour, City Manager Henry Taboada said.