New Redondo fire chief begins
by Garth Meyer
Retired Los Angeles Fire Department Assistant Chief Patrick “Pat” Butler, of Westchester, has been named Redondo Beach’s interim fire chief.
“I love being the interim. They get to test drive me,” Butler said in an interview last week.
As a child in the ‘70s, he and his family often visited the Redondo Beach Pier, when the area next to Captain Kidd’s was a dirt lot.
His mother is from Mexico, and taught in Lennox. His father was Irish and worked at Hughes Aircraft for 45 years. His brother is a neurosurgeon in Boston.
Butler worked for the L.A. Fire Department for 31 years, retiring last year.
He heard about the interim chief position while living in a rental house on Oahu with his wife. The couple has two daughters.
Growing up, Butler spent much of his time in Mexico, staying with his mother’s family. One of his cousins was kidnapped and murdered. Another was killed in a mysterious car accident.
“It comes from family tragedy that I wanted to be a firefighter,” Butler said. “This is where I can pay it forward.”
He joined the LAFD in 1990. In 1996, he became an L.A. County Sheriff Reserve Officer too — where he spent 22 years as a detective in the Special Victims Bureau.
One of his LAFD posts was as commander of the arson/counterterrorism unit, supervising 23 fire investigators.
Butler earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice management from Union Institute and later received a master’s in Security Studies and Homeland Defense, a degree conferred by Congress. He then got a doctorate from USC in Public Policy.
“I was awarded a very exclusive scholarship,” he said. “Education develops professionalism in firefighting.”
He has served as incident commander on large wildfires, building fires and marine rescues (including in the fog off of Palos Verdes Peninsula).
As the new Redondo interim chief, Butler has a 40-minute bike ride to work from Westchester.
The route is part Memory Lane – he would fish off the Pier with his father, then go to Quality Seafood. His favorite order was fried clams, with cocktail sauce, Tabasco and a Fanta de Mexico soda brought by his mother.
“The Redondo Beach Pier always felt welcome to people of diverse communities,” said Butler. “I mean that from the bottom of my heart.”
Situation here
Butler, 55, joins the Redondo Beach Fire Department following an assessment led by previous interim chief Keith Kauffman and a consultant.
“They did a fantastic job,” Butler said. “Many fire departments could benefit from this type of assessment.”
The new chief is now prioritizing what to work on. First, is to be sure the department is ready for any large disaster.
“I have confidence that this department has operational readiness,” Butler said.
Next, he talked about the Explorer program for youth and young adults interested in firefighter/paramedic work, which kicked off in August.
Another is dispatch, “so we send the right resource to the right type of call.”
A third is to restructure the community response team, now offering CPR instruction to high school students.
“How can we integrate more technology into the fire department, training and public engagement,” he said about another priority.
He would like to assess the harbor, too.
County study
Butler’s start also coincides a city staff study about whether to contract with Los Angeles County for fire services.
Kauffman is helping Butler with the new chief’s transition.
“I have not found anyone else with his depth and breadth of knowledge of experience in public safety in Redondo Beach,” said Butler. “I asked him, can I just come to work for you instead?”
The chief has no opinion yet on the county study, other than saying, “Fire departments are woven into the fabric of communities.”
His two daughters, now in college, went to Da Vinci charter school in El Segundo.
For his interview for the new job, when Butler met City Manager Mike Witzansky, it looked good from the start.
“I definitely can work for this guy,” Butler said. “Within the first 30 seconds.”
After his second week on the job, he said, he likes what he sees.
“Great people, great attitudes, can-do attitude, professional and hungry to learn,” he said. “It’s a fantastic job.” ER