Stockton Fire Chief Richard Edwards has announced that he will step down as the head of the city’s fire department at the end of July.
Edwards will end his career with over five years as the Stockton Fire Department’s top official and 25 years with the department overall.
The fire chief made the announcement at the Stockton City Council’s strategic planning workshop on Tuesday. His last day with the city will be on July 25.
“Overall, your fire department’s in a good place,” Edwards told the council. “You have a very talented group of men and women serving this department, and more talented group of chief officers who are going to be able to lead this organization well into the future. That being said, I think it’s time for me to pass command and allow a new chief to lead this outstanding fire department.”
The fire chief said he will work on a succession plan for the department with city officials.
Before coming to Stockton in 2000, Edwards previously worked in both the city of Folsom and the El Dorado County Fire District. He holds an associate’s degree from Sierra College in business administration, a bachelor’s degree in emergency management from Waldorf University in Iowa, and a master’s degree from Waldorf in organizational leadership in public administration.
“Twenty-five years ago, I joined the Stockton Fire Department wanting to make a difference in the lives of our community members,” Edwards said. “Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to serve in every rank of the fire department and as your fire chief for the last five years. My tenure as fire chief has been marked with some extraordinary accomplishments, such as the reopening of Fire Station No. 1, Truck No. 7, significant improvements in the health and wellness of our firefighters, and creating the CENCAL Fire EMS Authority. I’ve also experienced some of the greatest heartache and unimaginable grief in the tragic death of Fire Capt. Max Fortuna.”
Edwards concluded his remarks by saying that he was proud and honored to have had the opportunity to serve the city of Stockton and live out his childhood dream of being a fireman.
“I’m excited about the future of the Stockton Fire Department,” Edwards said.
Mayor Christina Fugazi, Vice Mayor Jason Lee, and District 1 Councilmember Michele Padilla thanked the fire chief for his commitment to protecting Stockton and its residents.
“Your years of service are definitely appreciated by everyone in this room and in our community,” Fugazi said. “As we move forward, we also appreciate the fact that you will be helping continue to move our fire department forward in the direction that it has been doing so fabulous in.”
State of Stockton Fire
Prior to announcing his departure, Edwards provided an update on the state of the Stockton Fire Department to the council on Tuesday.
The fire department serves a population of 368,099 across the city of Stockton and four contract districts, including the Eastside Rural Fire District, the Tuxedo-Country Club Fire District, the Lincoln Rural County Fire Protection District, and the Boggs Tract Fire District. It has a budget of $86.2 million in fiscal year 2024-25.
The fire department has 210 uniformed personnel. There are currently 12 vacancies, but those vacancies will be filled after the department’s academy in August, according to Edwards’ presentation.
“The Stockton Fire Department is extremely busy,” the fire chief said. “Per capita, we’re probably one of the busiest fire departments in the United States.”
In 2024, the fire department averaged 166 calls for service every day, and 194 of those calls were for structure fires that crews had to put out. About 65% of all fires had a “homeless component” to them and 13% of the department’s responses also had a homeless component to them, according to Edwards.
Additionally, the Stockton Fire Communications Center answered more than 224,000 calls last year.
In the year ahead, Edwards said the fire department will be focused on CENCAL Fire EMS Authority, a new joint powers agreement between Stockton, Lodi, and the South San Joaquin County Fire Authority.
“This is really going to revolutionize and transform the way EMS services are provided here in San Joaquin County,” he said. “Instead of a private company providing ambulance services and taking those profits and shipping them back to Wall Street, this JPA is going to work with a private ambulance company and reinvest those additional revenues back into our communities for increased levels of service, more ambulances, and so forth. We’re essentially increasing EMS services provided to our community.”
Other priorities of the fire department’s for the upcoming year include recruitment and retention of paramedics, which there is a shortage of statewide, and improving the mental health and well-being of first responders.
“We’re really trying to put a focus on taking care of those that serve our community because when they’re performing at their highest level, we’re able as a fire department to provide the absolute best service to our community,” Edwards said.
Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton Fire Chief Richard Edwards to step down in July after 25 years with department
Reporting by Hannah Workman, The Stockton Record / The Record
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