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Department Heads
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To view photos and bios of LAFD's Department Heads, click on a link below or on the menu bar on the left.
Fire Chief  Fire Chief Doug Tucker has dedicated over 40 years to the fireservice. In 1969 he joined the Phoenix Fire Department. As a Firefighter, he was selected along with 11 others to become the first group of Rescue Medics in the State of Arizona. That group, affectionately known as the “Dirty Dozen”, was trained to the level of Paramedic and went on to become the core group for the Technical Rescue Team.
As a Paramedic Captain, he received the PFD A ward of Merit for his efforts in the development, training and dedication to the High Angle & Technical Rescue Team. He developed and led the SWAT-Medic Team and the Critical Stress Debriefing Team. In 1981 he was awarded Paramedic of the Year.
He went on to become the Public Information Officer and as the child drowning incidents in Arizona were the highest in the nation, he helped to develop a nationally recognized Child Drowning Prevention Program. For these efforts, he received the PFD Award of Merit.
In May 1994, he retired as a Division Chief of the Phoenix Fire Department. In that same month, Chief Tucker married the lovely Kelley Adams and moved to Los Alamos to become the Assistant Chief of Operations for LAFD. Chief Tucker has a son Jim currently serving as Captain for the Phoenix Fire Department. A daughter Cindy who is a Banking Vice President in northern California, and a son Ryan who is a Senior attending New Mexico State University studying Pre-Law. Chief Tucker is the proud grandfather to Zack, John and Leilani.
In 1996, he was promoted to Deputy Chief of the Los Alamos Fire Department.
After the Cerro Grande Fire he received a Los Alamos Achievement Award for his actions taken before the fire to mitigate the threat of wildfire to LANL DX & ESA Divisions. He is honored to be working with the a Fire Department which has been Accredited twice, is a ISO Class 1 Fire Department, and has received the Department of Energy’s Medal of Valor.
In July 2008 the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation selected Chief Tucker as the Chief Officer for the Local State Assistance Team. This team responds to assist New Mexico Departments in the advent of a Line of Duty Death.
In July of this year, he was selected as the Los Alamos County Fire Chief where he continues to serve with the same dedication to duty he has always given to the fire service. He is dedicated to promoting a safety-driven fire and emergency service culture and ensuring each and every LAFD Firefighter is trained, equipped and capable of meeting the challenges in our ever changing world |
Acting Dupty Fire Chief
Acting  Dupty Chief, Michael Thompson started with the Los Alamos Fire Department at the beginning of 1992 and found his niche in both EMS and public education. As a member of the Fire department he has held the ranks of Captain, Battalion Chief, and now Assistant Chief. He has worked on several projects for the fire department including the first defibrillators deployed in the fire department, first EMS protocols, Fire station 4 and 6 remodels, new Fire Station 3, and the dart of Fires integration in Los Alamos’ Consolidated dispatch Center.
He is an EMT Intermediate Instructor/Coordinator, holds NFPA certificates as a Fire Inspector 1, and Certified Fire Protection Specialist. He has completed several courses both at the National Fire Academy and with the New Mexico Chapter of the IAAI that qualify him as a Fire Investigator in accordance with NFPA 1033 and has achieved recognition of his work experience meeting NFPA’s Fire Officer 4 requirements. He was born in Marshalltown Iowa and grew up near Kansas City Missouri. He moved to Los Alamos in 1984 where he met and married his wife of 25 years Kelly they have one son Mick. Prior to the Fire department he worked with several contractors, Los Alamos Middle School, and obtained his GB98 General Contractor’s License. He is an avid hiker and backpacker that can be seen on any given morning walking with his two Labs Kyoto and Osaka. |
Assistant Chief EMS and Training  Assistant Chief EMS and Training Mark Sandoval was born and raised in Los Alamos and graduated from Los Alamos High School. While in school he enjoyed playing several Varsity Sports including basketball and golf. After High School he attended the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University majoring in Business. After college, he worked in the Albuquerque area managing several successful restaurants.
Mark joined the Los Alamos Fire Department in 1990 and was promoted to Captain in 1993 and then Battalion Chief in 1996. Some of his achievements include starting a Confined Space Rescue Program for our department, reaching the Technician level in Technical Rescue Response, coordinating and instructing the LAFD Technical Rescue Team, and authoring numerous Fire Chief Directives and Tactical Worksheets.
Mark is married with three grown children and two grandchildren. His wife Trish is a travel agent, and they enjoy traveling frequently. Their favorite destination is the Caribbean. Mark’s other interests include golf, camping, and spending time with his family. |
Acting Assistant Chief Fire and Life Safety Division/Acting Fire Marshal Acting  Assistant Chief Edward “Henry” Ortiz was born in Los Alamos and raised in the Pojoaque Valley. He attend Pojoaque High School. After high school he served 5 years in the United States Navy.
Henry joined the Los Alamos Fire Department in 1991. He was promoted to Driver Engineer 1999, to Captain in 2000 and Battalion Chief in 2006. He has been a member of the Fire Prevention Team since its inception 1992. He has also served on the Fire Investigation Team.
Henry is married with two young boys. He is a life long Boston Red Sox and Miami Dolphin fan. He also loves to play golf but his game is still a work in progress. |
(Battalion Chief) EMS  He was born in Albuquerque and raised in La Cueva located in the Jemez Mountains with a deep appreciation of the mountains and the people who lived there. He graduated Jemez Valley High School and went to school at NM State University where he studied Wildlife Science. He started his fire career in La Cueva where he literally grew up in the Fire Service because his Father was the Chief during his informative years.
He volunteered for many years with La Cueva and Sandoval County before being hired with LACFD. From there he has promoted through the ranks in LACFD to Driver/Engineer, Captain and now Battalion Chief. He is currently in the process of obtaining his AAS in Fire Science and is a master instructor for the NM State Firefighters Academy and instruct in the many disciplines of Fire and Hazardous Materials. He is married to Cori and has two young children, Madisen and Charlie. Both kids keep him and his wife busy with many projects and school. Justin and family enjoy the outdoors and travel. |
(Acting Battalion Chief) Safety Acting Battalion Chief Safety |
(Battalion Chief) Training Division
 Justin C Cassel was born in Superior, Wisconsin. In his early years he relocated with his family to Iran (Dad worked for AT&T). Upon the fall of the Shah, the family relocated to Colorado Springs where he graduated high school.
After a short stint at the UND-Bottineau, he served six years in the USMC and actively participated in Operation Desert Shield/Storm. The Marine Corps decided his first duty station should be aboard the aircraft carrier USS Constellation CV-64, at that time if you were a Marine on sea-duty, they also made you a ship-board firefighter. He used those skills when the ship had a 20,000 gallon fuel/oil spill and subsequent fire for the next 24 hours while steaming out of the port of San Diego.
After being honorably discharged from the USMC, he decided the fire service may be a career for him and relocated to Portland, OR to further his education in the fire field.
When he was attending school he worked at the VA National Cemetery, Portland and was an Intern a Clark County Fire District # 3 (Washington). Upon graduation of Portland Community College with an AAS-Fire Science he worked for the college in the fire science program, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue at their regional training center and Clark County Fire District # 12.
In 1997 he was hired on with LAFD as a Firefighter II and has served as a Training Officer, Driver Engineer, Captain, Support Officer and Act. Battalion Chief of Safety.
He has attended numerous National Fire Academy courses to include Organizational Theory in Practice and was part of the first class in Colorado to graduate from the 160 hour Chief Officer Training Curriculum course.
He is currently finishing his divisional assignment in Safety and is looking forward to his assignment to Training. |
Acting (Battalion Chief(A Shift)) Acting Battalion Chief (A-Shift) |
(Battalion Chief (B Shift))  Battalion Chief Richard Garcia was introduced to firefighting while serving with the US Navy in 1975. After four years in the Navy, he returned to his hometown of Las Cruces, New Mexico and was hired as a Firefighter with the Department of Defense at White Sands. After serving 14 years as a Firefighter at the White Sands Test Facility, he wanted to get out of the desert climate and get into a cooler and greener area, so he and his son moved up North and Richard was hired on with the Los Alamos County Fire Department.
Richard promoted through the ranks to his current position as Battalion Chief. He has an Instructor Level III Certification, and is a New Mexico State Fire Academy Fire Essentials Instructor, Wildland Fire Instructor, and National Safety Council Defensive Driving Instructor. In addition, Richard is a member of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors. Since 1997 Richard has been instrumental in coordinating, instructing, and preparing recruits for graduation as Training Battalion Chief. Recently, Richard was assigned B-Shift Battalion Chief. |
(Battalion Chief (C Shift))  Dennis Martinez was born in Espanola, New Mexico February 9th, 1969. He is a lifelong resident of Chimayo, New Mexico, where he resides with his wife Leticia and sons Justin and Isaiah. He graduated from Espanola Valley High School in 1987 and continued his education at the University of New Mexico and Eastern New Mexico University. Dennis joined the Los Alamos Fire Department in 1991, was promoted to Captain in 2000 and Battalion Chief in 2008. He also became a paramedic in 2000. He has served as a member of the Technical Rescue Team, Health and Safety Committee, Respiratory Protection Committee, Emergency Medical Systems Cadre, as an EMS Instructor, as a Paramedic Mentor, and in Labor Management.
When not working, Dennis spends his time raising his family and looking forward to the next vacation or camping trip.
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