Latino Appointed Deputy Chief of Los Angeles Fire Department

Reynaldo Rojo, a 30-year veteran of the Los Angeles Fire Department who said his main concern while moving up the ranks was “surviving,” was appointed deputy chief Wednesday, becoming the highest-ranking Latino on the force.

Mayor Tom Bradley announced the appointment at a City Hall news conference attended by Fire Department officials, members of the Fire Commission and leading members of the city’s Latino community.

Rojo, 53, becomes one of the city’s four deputy chiefs and will supervise the department’s communications, supply and training divisions.

Bradley called the appointment “a symbol and tribute to the Fire Department and its career opportunities” and said the promotion sends the message that hard work will pay off.

City Councilman Richard Alatorre, chairman of the council’s Police, Fire and Public Safety Committee, added: “The Fire Department, and other city departments, become greater when they are representative of all people in the city. This is an important day for Hispanics throughout the city.”

While officials offered the appointment as proof of the city’s commitment to affirmative action, Fire Chief Donald O. Manning noted that Rojo was the top candidate, receiving the highest Civil Service score among candidates.

Rojo, who attributed his advancement to hard work, said he has not experienced discrimination in the Fire Department.

“This department is an organization where you prove yourself,” he said. “I made captain before there was affirmative action; I made senior inspector before there was affirmative action. I believed before I came on board that if you work hard you will get there.”

Role Models

But Rojo also acknowledged the need for role models. “People will probably look up to me as a role model and it’s good if I can inspire someone to want to move up,” he said.

Rojo replaces interim Deputy Fire Chief Paul Orduna, who, on his appointment in January, became the first black named to that position. Orduna will resume his previous position as an assistant fire chief.

Court Order

Since 1974, the Fire Department has operated under a court order requiring that 50% of the department’s new recruits be black, Latino and Asian until the percentage of those minorities in the department equal their proportion in the city’s population.

According to department numbers, Latinos now represent about 20% of the force, including two assistant chiefs, three battalion chiefs and 49 captains. Blacks represent about 9%, with one assistant chief, two battalion chiefs and 15 captains, while Asians make up 2.5% of the force, including six captains. There are 23 female firefighters.

Rojo, a resident of Torrance, served as operations commander while fighting the downtown Central Library fire in 1986 and headed the department’s Hazardous Materials Committee.