Show/Hide

Important Updates


    
Executive Management


Fire Chief
Brian Fennessy
Brian Fennessy became Fire Chief of the Orange County Fire Authority on April 16, 2018.
 
Chief Fennessy began his career in 1978 with the US Department of Agriculture's United States Forest Service and the US Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management working as a hotshot crewmember, hotshot/helishot/helitack captain and ultimately crew superintendent.
 
In 1990, Fennessy joined the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) and ultimately became Chief of the Department in 2015. One of his many accomplishments while with the SDFD was developing & establishing a multi-mission Fire/Rescue/EMS helicopter program designed to serve the citizens of the City of San Diego and the region.
 
Chief Fennessy has enjoyed a diversity of executive leadership and management experiences in both the wildland fire and metropolitan fire service communities. He believes that Mission-Driven Culture (MDC) is the future of the fire service and has presented on this topic at a variety of local, state, and national venues.
 
Chief Fennessy has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and has participated in hundreds of Fire Service, NIMS, and Incident Command Systems courses throughout his career. Fennessy has also completed many specialized leadership-training courses, including the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Fire Service Executive Development Institute (FSEDI) program and for the last ten-years, represented the IAFC on the NWCG Leadership Subcommittee.
 
Chief Fennessy has held multiple Incident Command System (ICS) certifications and positions, has also served on National Incident Management Teams, and developed one of the first All-Hazard Incident Management Teams (AHIMT) in the US.
 
 
Assistant Chief of Support Services
Dave Anderson
Assistant Chief Dave Anderson began his career as a Reserve Firefighter for San Clemente Fire Department in 1988 and transitioned to the Orange County Fire Department in 1994. Before being named Assistant Chief on March 2, 2017, Chief Anderson promoted through the ranks of Fire Captain, Fire Investigator, Administrative Captain, Battalion Chief, and, most recently, Division Chief for the City of Santa Ana.
 
Chief Anderson participated on the following special assignments: Technical Lead on the AVL Project, Academy Cadre for Academies 30 & 31, Medical Specialist for CA Task Force 5, CAD/AVL display on SharePoint, Peter's Canyon Mapping, Turnout Timer Pilot, CA-TF5 and OCFA Benevolent websites, check-in forms to FIRE Scope, Fire Friends forms re-design, and iOS Incident Notification.

Visit Support Services
 
Assistant Chief of Business Services
Lori Zeller
Lori Zeller, Assistant Chief of Business Services, has been with OCFA 17 years. Prior to her appointment as Assistant Chief in 2004, Lori served as OCFA's Assistant Treasurer from 1997 to 2000, and then as OCFA's Treasurer from 2000 to 2004. Lori holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration from California State University, Fullerton, and she completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Visit Business Services
 
Assistant Chief & Fire Marshal
Lori Smith
Lori Smith serves as the Assistant Chief & Fire Marshal. She has over 30 years of experience in the fire service, having served 12 years in management and executive management positions. She is a Cal State Fullerton graduate in Political Science and also holds a degree in Computer Information Systems and Fire Administration. She is a graduate of the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officers program.

Visit Community Risk Reduction
 
Director of Human Resources
Brigette Gibb
Human Resources Director Brigette Gibb joined the OCFA family in 2014, after serving the City of Anaheim for 21 years. Her human resources career began in organizational training and development, and evolved into employee and labor relations, recruitment and selection, classification and compensation, and benefits. She started her public-sector career as a teenager working for the City of Monrovia as a lifeguard, swimming instructor, and recreation leader. She also had the pleasure of serving the cities of Sierra Madre and Irwindale. Brigette is a certified Labor Relations Master (CalPELRA) and holds two degrees, a Bachelor's from California State University, Long Beach and a Master's in Public Administration from California State University, Fullerton.

Visit Human Resources
 
Assistant Chief of Operations
Pokey Sanchez
Pokey Sanchez has been with the Orange County Fire Authority for over 30 years. Throughout those years, he has served the agency in a variety of positions, most recently for over 11 years as a Battalion Chief.
 
Chief Sanchez has extensive experience in administration and incident management. He worked his way through the ranks, starting as a Paid Call Firefighter before becoming a career Firefighter, Firefighter/Paramedic, Assistant Fire Training Officer, Fire Captain, Battalion Chief, and Training Chief.
 
Chief Sanchez has served on CA-TF5 Urban Search and Rescue, Firefighter Academy Coordinator/Instructor, Fire Captain Academy Coordinator/Instructor, Battalion Chief Academy Coordinator/Instructor. He is currently a FIRESCOPE representative, COA representative, CSFM SFT instructor, Incident Commander Type 3, Operations Section Chief Trainee, Division Group Supervisor, Strike Team Leader and is involved in numerous other committees and associations.
 
As a self-motivated chief officer with a record of success in leadership, he is able to develop effectiveness, efficiency, and maturity in subordinates through innovative leadership style. Chief Sanchez encourages free flow of ideas and cooperative resolutions to problems through strong teamwork. For this, he was named Orange County Fire Authority's Manager of the Year in 2012.

Visit Operations