City of Downey, CA
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The Fire Administrative Division, located on the first floor of City Hall, is responsible for providing overall control and direction of the organization. In addition to providing administrative support to all Divisions, Fire Administration prepares and coordinates the Department’s budget; acts as the liaison with Human Resources for recruitment, promotions and performance appraisals; oversees payroll functions; and reviews, prepares and presents staff reports to City Staff and Council members. The current staffing in the administrative division is the Fire Chief, his Executive Secretary, and one Administrative Assistant.
Mission Statement
The dedicated men and women of the Downey Fire Department strive to deliver the highest quality of service to the expanding needs of our community.
We will safely and aggressively prevent or minimize the loss of life and property through our combined professional efforts.
Fire Chief Dan Hurlock
Dan grew up in Downey and graduated from Downey High School in 1983. While attending high school, he played baseball and football and his favorite classes were wood shop and metal shop.
After high school, Dan worked his way through college and graduated from Long Beach Community College where he earned an Associate of Science Degree in Industrial Electricity. Upon completion of his AS degree, he continued on to Cal State Long Beach where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management.
After college, Dan worked in construction for several years, as an electrician. During this time, he earned his contractor’s license and went into business as an Electrical Contractor.
After a few years of self employment, and a couple of ride-a-longs with some friends in the Fire Department, Dan felt a calling to pursue a career in the fire service. A family friend helped him get sponsored into the Rio Hondo College Fire Academy. Dan attended a part time academy that required him to be in class every Thursday and Friday night and all day on Saturday and Sunday for eight months, while working full time.
After completing the academy, Dan became an Auxiliary Fire Fighter for the Santa Fe Springs Fire Department then the Downey Fire Department. He tested for several years competing for jobs with various fire departments and was hired by the Downey Fire Department in April of 2000.
While working for the Downey Fire Department, in 2002, Dan was selected to go to paramedic school and completed paramedic training as a top student and delivered the class speech at graduation. After working as a paramedic for a few years, Dan began to study and prepare for promotional opportunities. He took three Engineer promotional exams, two Captain promotional exams and one Battalion Chief promotional exam. In 2011, Dan promoted to Captain and in 2014, he promoted to Battalion Chief.
Throughout his career, Dan has been involved in many programs including: teaching community CPR and first aid, teaching the Community Emergency Response Team, managing the department’s safety program, managing equipment and apparatus, training officer for multiple recruit classes, managing department facilities, professional standards and data management.
On January 1, 2021, Dan was appointed to the position of Fire Chief and he is committed to providing leadership to the members of the Downey Fire Department and support to City Council, City Management and other City Departments.
Most of all, Dan is dedicated to continuing to provide the excellent public service that the citizens of Downey have come to know and deserve.
Assistant Chief Anthony Hildebrand
Assistant Chief Anthony Hildebrand grew up locally, attending St. John Bosco High School. He went on to study Chemistry at Santa Clara University. A brief career as a chemical engineer followed, focusing on hazardous materials handling and storage. In 2002, Anthony chose to change career paths and made the decision to pursue a career in the fire service. After attending El Camino Fire Academy the following year, he began as a firefighter with the Twentynine Palms Fire Department. In October 2003, Anthony was hired with Downey Fire Department. He attended Los Angeles County Paramedic Training Institute and served as a paramedic until 2013. Anthony promoted to Fire Engineer in 2013. Then, in 2015, he promoted again to Captain, serving as an officer on engine and truck companies. In January 2021, Anthony was promoted to Assistant Chief. Chief Hildebrand currently oversees Fire Prevention, Fire Investigations, Department Emergency Medical Program, Grant Management, Insurance Services compliance, and is also the City's Fire Marshal. He is currently assigned to the fire department office at city hall.
Battalion Chiefs
Battalion Chief Dan Rasmussen
Dan Rasmussen has worked for the City of Downey for 15 years. Prior to working for the City of Downey, Dan was a Fire Cadet with the Glendale Fire Department and an Auxiliary Firefighter for the San Gabriel Fire Department. Downey, Dan was a Fire Cadet with the Glendale Fire Department and an Auxiliary Firefighter for the San Gabriel Fire Department.
Dan was hired as a firefighter in Downey in January 2006. He was a firefighter for three years when he promoted to the rank of engineer in 2009. He was an engineer for three years before promoting to fire captain in 2012.
Throughout his career, Dan has been heavily involved in our fire department. Most recently he was the mobile and portable radio coordinator. Utilizing Measure S funding, he over saw a significant upgrade to our fire ground radio operations that have increased firefighter safety. In addition to radio operations, Dan recently managed the Downey Fire Department Insurance Service Office (ISO) 2020 review. Previously, Dan has been the auxiliary coordinator, is a current CERT instructor, has participated in the apparatus committee, equipment committee, and our safety committee. Dan has worked with our fire prevention Bureau completing pre-fire planning. He has been a Downey recruit instructor over the years, and assisted many of his fellow firefighters in the promotional process.
Dan has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management from the University of Arizona. He has a California State Fire Marshal (CSFM) Chief Officer's Certification, he is a California Incident Command Certification System (CICCS) Strike Team Leader, and is a certified US&R Task Force Leader.
Dan is the “A” platoon battalion chief, and oversees the Downey Fire Communications Center 9-1-1 operations.
Battalion Chief Jorge Villanueva
Jorge Villanueva grew up locally and attended Gahr High School in Cerritos. He graduated from Santa Ana College’s Basic Fire Academy in March of 2000. Immediately after his graduation, he began working for Care Ambulance, volunteering for the Riverside County Fire Department, and was an Explorer Advisor for the Costa Mesa Fire Department. He was quickly hired by the Downey Fire Department in November of 2000 and began his fire service career. Jorge soon became involved in the Downey Fire Department Explorer Program and enjoyed giving back to the cadets. He then attended Paramedic Training Institute while on probation in 2001 and served as Downey Fire Paramedic for 5 years. He promoted to Fire Engineer in December of 2007 and was focused on promoting to Fire Captain. Jorge was promoted to Fire Captain in September of 2009. He had a passion for training and soon after promoting became a Training Officer. Jorge has worked as a Fire Captain at all four of Downey’s fire stations and has experience as a Truck Captain as well. Prior to his promotion to Battalion Chief, he also served in an administrative role as the Administrative Training Coordinator. Jorge was one of the Downey Fire Department’s senior captains before he was announced as an Interim Battalion chief in August of 2022 before promoting to Battalion Chief in March of 2022. Battalion Chief Villanueva is a certified Task Force Leader and working to complete his Strike Team Leader certification. He is currently assigned to the “B” platoon and is responsible for facilities, apparatus and fleet, equipment, safety, wellness, and public education.
Battalion Chief Peter Browne
Battalion Chief Peter Browne began his fire service career in July of 1998 as a firefighter with the Downey Fire Department. He immediately gave back to the department by taking over the department’s Fire Explorer program and still continues to teach, mentor and train the explorers each year during the annual California Fire Exploring Academy (this will be his 20th year volunteering). Many of the past and current explorers success is directly related to Pete’s dedication to this program.
In October of 2000, Pete was selected to attend paramedic training. He dedicated himself to the position by providing outstanding patient care until he was promoted to engineer in December 2008. As an engineer, Pete was responsible for the care and maintenance of his apparatus and responding personnel and equipment safely to and from emergencies.
Pete has taken on many other additional responsibilities which include Personal Protective Equipment, Served on the department uniform committee, Regional Training US&R representative, and Department Safety Committee member to better the organization and move it forward.
Pete promoted to captain in June of 2013. He was selected as a training officer in September of 2014 and was responsible for organizing and leading all training on the C-shift platoon. In 2018 Captain Browne was selected to a newly acquired forty hour-training coordinator position to assist in developing and scheduling department wide trainings. Peter Browne is the “C” platoon battalion chief.