Alfred Poirier, a 35-year veteran of firefighting in California has been selected as the next Deputy Fire Chief for the City of Beverly Hills. Poirier, most recently the Chief Deputy of Emergency Operations for the Los Angeles Fire Department, will join the Beverly Hills Fire Department (BHFD) on Sept. 6.  As Deputy Fire Chief for BHFD, he will oversee Emergency Response Operations, the Safety and Training Division, and System Integration. He will be second in command at BHFD.

“Al is one of the most respected leaders in our industry,” said Beverly Hills Fire Chief Greg Barton. “We received applications from dozens of sitting Fire Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs nationwide and I am thrilled to bring Al’s extensive background and expertise to our team and our community.”

At the Los Angeles Fire Department, Poirier oversaw a service area of more than 100 fire stations served by 1000 firefighters and paramedics on duty each day. This responsibility included executive level decision making related to fire and emergency medical resource deployment, organizational policies and budget management.

“The Beverly Hills Fire Department has an outstanding reputation for its level of service and innovative programs,” said Poirier. “I am grateful for the opportunity to join Chief Barton and work with this incredible team as we serve the world-class community of Beverly Hills.”

Poirier has worked across the Los Angeles area in a variety of assignments and is a veteran of several dozen large scale emergency events including multiple devastating wildland fires, the 1992 Civil Disturbance and the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. He was a member of the FEMA Urban Search & Rescue Team (CATF-1) in Los Angeles for over 20 years with deployments that included the World Trade Center event in NYC on 9/11, and to the Gulf Hurricane Disaster in 2005.

Poirier earned his Bachelor of Science in Emergency Services Management from Union Institute and University, and Master of Arts in Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.