Cal Fire appoints new SLO County chief

Scott Jalbert was appointed Monday to head the Cal Fire/San Luis Obispo County Fire Department, following the retirement of longtime fire Chief Robert Lewin in December, the agency announced.

When Jalbert begins work April 1, he will head the local agency of about 180 full-time personnel that serves unincorporated areas of the county as well as the city of Pismo Beach, and the community of Cayucos in the off-fire season.

Jalbert will transfer from the Cal Fire office of Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties, where he has served as chief since January 2013.

He takes over in San Luis Obispo for Steve Reeder, who was appointed to head the agency on an interim basis following the departure of Lewin, who retired after 37 years with Cal Fire.

Jalbert began his career with Cal Fire in San Luis Obispo in 1987, working as a Class-1 firefighter before transferring to the Santa Cruz-San Mateo area. There, he was promoted to fire apparatus engineer in 1990, fire captain in 1998 and battalion chief in 2006. He transferred to Ben Lomond Camp as assistant chief in 2010 and was promoted to deputy chief a year later.

Aside from his daily duties, he is a fire instructor for City College of San Francisco and has a vocational teaching credential from the state of California for Fire Control Safety.

A Cal Fire news release said San Luis Obispo County Administrator Dan Buckshi and Pismo Beach City Manager Jim Lewis had significant input on Jalbert’s appointment. Buckshi was in a county Board of Supervisors meeting, and Lewis did not immediately return requests for comment Tuesday.

In a prepared statement, however, Buckshi said Jalbert is “known for his integrity, ability to collaborate and effective leadership skills.”

“He’s just what this county needs in its new fire chief,” Buckshi said.

This story was originally published March 8, 2016 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Cal Fire appoints new SLO County chief."