Con Fire Names 1st Female Assistant Chief, Makes Leadership Changes

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District announced a number of leadership changes as part of a reorganization effective Aug. 1 designed to ensure effective management of the district, the scope, size, and complexity of which grew July 1 with its annexation of the former East Contra Costa Fire Protection District.

Changes include the creation of two new deputy fire chief positions, bringing the total number of deputy chiefs to three, with each responsible for overseeing one of three newly formed District sections; three new district chief positions, each responsible for managing one of three 24-hour operational shifts; and appointment of the district’s first woman assistant chief.

“With Con Fire’s annexation of the former East Contra Costa Fire, our District has grown considerably and these changes will support our continued delivery of high quality fire and EMS to all of our residents and visitors,” said Lewis Broschard, fire chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District. “I am pleased to announce the new organizational structure, leadership assignments, and related promotions, including appointment of our first female assistant chief, of which I am particularly proud.”

Con Fire’s new deputy fire chiefs are Deputy Fire Chief Brian Helmick, formerly fire chief of the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District; and Deputy Fire Chief Charles “Chuck” Stark, formerly assistant chief of operations.

Deputy Chief Aaron McAlister continues to serve as a deputy fire chief, responsible for the District’s Administrative Section, consisting of the support services, administrative, and communications divisions.

Helmick is responsible for the planning and development Section, consisting of the fire prevention bureau, contract fire services, and long-range planning.

Stark is responsible for the operations division, including overseeing all three new district chiefs and their operational shifts, as well as the EMS, training and safety, and special operations divisions.

The three new district chiefs are District Chief Mike Quesada, A shift; District Chief Vito Impastato, B shift; and District Chief Lon Goetsch, C shift.

Goetsch and Quesada were laterally transferred from previous assistant chief assignments, while Impastato was promoted from his previous rank of battalion chief. Impastato (not pictured) has served as a battalion chief in the operations division since 2018 and holds a bachelor’s degree from Bethany College.

Promoted to assistant chief to fill vacancies created by lateral transfers to the new district chief positions were Assistant Chief Tracie Dutter, support services division, and first female assistant chief; and Assistant Chief Dave Watson, training and safety division. Dutter previously served in the District’s fire prevention bureau as a captain. She brings a wealth of administrative experience, along with building construction experience, as the District embarks on multiple fire station construction projects.

Dutter has a bachelor’s degree from Cogswell Polytechnical College. She has represented Con Fire and the California Fire Chiefs Association on a national scale at code adoption hearings. Dutter’s promotion to assistant chief is a first for Con Fire. She is the first woman to hold the rank of assistant fire chief and is the highest ranking female in the organization.

Watson has served as an operational battalion chief since 2018. During that time, he also served as the special operations battalion chief. Watson brings experience and leadership from his dedication to the Urban Search and Rescue Task Force Four, as well as local deployments as a planning section chief. Watson has two master’s degrees and a bachelor of science from Pepperdine University.

Con Fire now serves a population of more than 750,000 residents across 553 square miles, six and 45 percent increases, respectively. It delivers fire and EMS in 11 cities and 10 unincorporated areas with nearly 500 employees staffing 30 fire stations with 33 daily on-duty crews.

Cities within Con Fire's jurisdiction now include Antioch, Brentwood, Clayton, Concord, Lafayette, Martinez, Oakley, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, San Pablo and Walnut Creek. Unincorporated areas within Con Fire's jurisdiction now include Bay Point, Bethel Island/Knightsen, Byron, Discovery Bay, East Richmond Heights, El Sobrante, Marsh Creek, Morgan Territory, North Richmond and Pacheco.