CAL FIRE Promotes Veteran Firefighter as Deputy Director of Fire Protection

Friday, December 6, 2013

CAL FIRE Promotes Veteran Firefighter as Deputy Director of Fire Protection

CAL FIRE Promotes Veteran Firefighter Clare Frank as Deputy Director of Fire Protection

Sacramento - Clare Frank, of San Jose, was promoted to Deputy Director of Fire Protection Programs for CAL FIRE. Director Ken Pimlott appointed Frank after serving three years as the department’s assistant deputy director of Cooperative Fire, Training and Safety Program.

“Clare brings a unique background and past experiences to the positions including being a local fire chief, a lawyer and a law enforcement officer,” said Chief Ken Pimlott. “With over 26 years of fire service experience, Clare will be a vital member of the CAL FIRE Executive Team.”

Frank rose through the ranks, beginning as a seasonal firefighter for CAL FIRE in the San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit in 1982. She has held a variety of field and management positions in the department, working in training, fire prevention, administration, civil cost recovery, and operations.

From 2005 to 2009 Frank served as the Fire Chief for the City of Milpitas, a progressive, all-risk fire department in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Frank takes the reins as Deputy Director of Fire Protection following behind Chief Andy McMurry. “Clare and I started our careers at the same time in Santa Cruz County,” said Chief Andy McMurry. “I couldn’t think of a better person to be CAL FIRE’s Chief of Fire Protection than Clare, she understands the complexities of the California Fire Service and has distinguished herself as a leader of leaders. Leaving the fire service after 32 years is hard, but it is a little easier when you know an old friend is now in command. ”

Frank served as the president of the Santa Clara County Fire Chief’s Association, an appointed policy committee member for the California League of Cities (for labor, personnel, and safety issues), a consultant

for the U.S. Fire Administration’s National Fire Academy curriculum development, and a Planning Section Chief on a CAL FIRE Command Team. As an attorney, Chief Frank practiced as a labor-employment lawyer, a California Deputy Attorney General, and a federal staff attorney for the U.S. District Court.

Photo of Chief Andy McMurry congratulating Chief Clare Frank

In 2011, Frank completed a law enforcement academy becoming a California peace officer.

Frank holds an Associate of Science Degree in Fire Protection Technology, a Bachelors of Science Degree in Fire Administration fromCogswell Polytechincal College, a Juris Doctorate from Santa Clara University, School of Law, and is a member in good standing of the California Bar.
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CFN - California Fire News 2013

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Friday, December 6, 2013