Ray Iverson, fire chief of San Mateo Consolidated, to head Redwood City department

Iverson, a San Mateo resident, said he felt drawn to the role due to the city’s new focus on equity, diversity and inclusion. Equity became a part of the city’s strategic goals in 2020 after thousands of people gathered in Courthouse Square to protest police brutality.

The Redwood City Fire Department also became the focus of a lawsuit last year in which Nigerian immigrant and firefighter Joseph Echema claims superiors and colleagues lobbed racially insensitive and sexually explicit jokes at him. He also claims superiors retaliated on the firefighter after reporting the harassment to the city’s human resources department.

Noting the “close knit community” between fire departments, Iverson said he’s familiar with Echema’s case as an outsider and has had conversations with the current Redwood City firefighter. With the support of Brianna Evans, the city’s new equity and inclusion officer, Iverson said he plans to make positive changes to the department.

“Being African American and rising through ranks, I experienced first hand some of the same challenges and I’ll be in a good position to address those head on,” Iverson said. “I’m planning to address it with the help of staff so that we can recover and move past it. I’m willing to commit to that.”

Redwood City Mayor Diane Howard said she was pleased to learn Iverson was selected to run the department, which is responsible for providing fire protection to nearly 120,000 residents across Redwood City and San Carlos.

Howard said she was heartened to hear Iverson’s interest in the role stemmed from the city’s own goals for infusing equity, diversity and inclusion into city policy and shared confidence in his ability to ingrain those values into the fire department.

“It sounds like we’re getting a super qualified individual who has a broad range of talent and experience to bring to the job,” Howard said. “I think he brings a wealth of experience to an area we’re just learning about. We recognize we have a lot to learn when it comes to the importance of these three things, equity, diversity and inclusion.”

Recognizing the varying needs of both Redwood City and San Carlos, Iverson said the cities will have to work collaboratively to ensure all priorities can be fairly considered and addressed. Similar to how he ran San Mateo Consolidated, Iverson said once he begins his work on June 7, he’ll do a scan of the organization and community to identify weak spots needing attention.

He also noted increased fire risks in San Mateo County caused by climate change and drought will require a holistic approach focused on enforcement, planning and education. Ensuring structures are hardened, vegetation is managed and resources are plentiful is key to protecting the region, he said.

“It’s not getting any better so we gotta get ahead of it,” Iverson said. “Fire is everyone’s problem. It’s not just a fire problem but it’s a community problem.”

Having started his fire service career in 1991, Iverson rose through the ranks of the San Mateo Fire Department, eventually becoming deputy chief. For the past six years Iverson has served as the San Mateo Consolidated fire chief, overseeing fire services for roughly 150,000 residents across San Mateo, Foster City and Belmont.

Fire Board chair and San Mateo Councilmember Joe Goethals praised Iverson’s leadership and applauded Redwood City’s selection of him to head their department.

“I think Redwood City made an excellent choice,” Goethals said. “Ray has tremendous experience and was a great leader for San Mateo Consolidated.”

The Fire Board will meet on May 12 to discuss future steps for selecting a new fire chief of its own and will consider appointing current Deputy Fire Chief Kent Thrasher to serve as interim fire chief, Goethals said.

Iverson has also filled other roles across Northern California fire departments including assistant chief and fire marshal for Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, battalion chief and fire marshal with the city of Benicia Fire Department and as a fire inspector for the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District and Vacaville Fire.

He’s also worked as a firefighter in Union City, Vacaville and with the American Canyon Fire Protection District and is currently an adjunct faculty member of the Community College of San Francisco.

Iverson earned an Associate of Fire Technology degree from Solano Community College and a Bachelor of Science degree in Fire Administration from Columbia Southern University where he’s currently working toward a Master of Public Administration.

Redwood City Manager Melissa Stevenson Diaz, responsible for hiring department heads, said Iverson’s background will be a welcomed addition to both Redwood City and San Carlos as both cities maneuver strong development interests. She also shared support for Iverson’s interests in reforming the fire department.

“Ray is a highly competent and experienced fire service leader and I am very pleased that he will be joining our team,” Diaz said in a press release. “I look forward to Ray’s leadership in increasing diversity in the Fire Department and advancing the City’s commitment to equity and inclusion.”

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

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