Fire Chief
Pete Nowicki
Given the opportunity to be a Fire Chief
of any agency, The Moraga-Orinda Fire District certainly ranks with
those on top of the list. The District is staffed with true
professionals who dedicate themselves to staying proficient in all
aspects of fire
suppression and community service. As a balance, we are so very lucky to
be serving a community where the citizens respond
back in kind with cooperative support. This teamwork approach has
allowed us to serve the community, not only with superb
emergency response abilities, but with specialized rescue capabilities
and community prevention programs as well.
As the Fire Chief, I am tasked with being the Chief Administrator of the
Fire District. I work closely
with the
Fire
District Board of Directors, citizen
groups, and other
agencies to formulate policy and implement projects to meet the needs
of
the community. The safety of District personnel and all members of the
community is the ultimate goal of the
fire service.
In
order
to achieve operational readiness, it is my
responsibility to ensure that qualified personnel are hired,
training is thorough
and ongoing, apparatus and equipment meets response needs, and that we
stay on the cutting edge
of rescue and prevention
technology.
Other administrative duties include establishing goals and objectives,
administering the District’s budget,
and supervising
management staff.
I am lucky to have started my fire service career at an early age, and
even luckier to have gained employment
with MOFD over 23 years ago. Because of this, I have been able to
promote up through the ranks, developing an appreciation for the job
classifications of each of our employees. Beyond that, I have also been
blessed with decades of interaction with the members of the community,
developing a twin appreciation for area hazards and citizen needs. |
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Chief’s Bio
I began my fire service career as soon as I graduated from high school
in San Francisco. I quickly joined the San Francisco Fire Department
Reserve Program while earning degrees in both Fire Science and
Criminology at the City College of San Francisco. Summers were spent
working for the US Forest Service as a ‘seasonal firefighter’. After two
years of study, I enlisted in the United States Navy (specializing in
aviation survival systems) and then transferred into the Navy Reserve.
Back at home, Para-medicine was all the rage, so I completed that
curriculum and found myself working on an ambulance with the San
Francisco Department of Public Health. In 1983, I was blessed with
employment with the Moraga Fire District, launching my career. Over the
following 13 years, I continued to enhance my paramedic skills by
continuing to work part-time for the City of San Francisco. I also
returned to school (San Francisco State University) and received a
Baccalaureate Degree in Physical Education and a Master’s Degree in
Exercise Physiology. I recently retired from the U.S. Navy after 28
years of service.
I served six of my MOFD years as a Battalion Chief and as the Personnel
Officer, and thus have an integral knowledge of human resources. With
that experience, I continue to sit on the Board of Directors for the
Fire Service Workers’ Compensation System.
I have always had (and continue to have) special interests in hazardous
materials, technical rescue (trench, confined space and high angle) and
employee safety. Teaching technical rescue courses to surrounding
agencies is a pleasure, and I continue to do so as time allows.
My home is in San Francisco, where my beautiful wife Angela and I enjoy
all the city has to offer. My hobbies are long distance running and road
biking, collecting old advertising, and studying American history. |
