Glendale Fire Chief Silvio Lanzas has officially announced his retirement after a 30-year career in public service with 26 years being as a career Firefighter. Chief Lanzas started his career in the fire service 30 years ago as a Fire Explorer at the Grand Terrace Fire Station. He was hired as Firefighter two days before graduating high school. He has served in all ranks from firefighter to Fire Chief. Glendale Mayor Ardy Kassakhian said of Lanzas, “Chief Lanzas is an exemplary public servant who saw us through the global Coronavirus pandemic and worked tirelessly to keep our community safe during the most critical time in our recent history. Time and again he went above and beyond making sure that our residents were well informed about various health measures while making sure that our city’s fire services were fully engaged in handling the pandemic. I’m grateful for all the work he has done for our city and wish him and his family nothing but the best in retirement. Obviously, the Chief’s departure will leave a major gap in our organization but one that I am confident we will be able to fill by working together with my colleagues on City Council, our City Manager Mr. Golanian, and the Chief himself.”
Chief Lanzas has been with the City of Glendale for four and a half years. He was hired by the City in 2017 as a Deputy Fire Chief, and promoted to Fire Chief in 2018. Throughout his time in Glendale, Chief Lanzas has been a dedicated public servant and exhibited extraordinary leadership during extremely challenging times. He has helped to improve the fire departments response times, diversity, and overall community impact. He has worked to build relationships with Glendale Firefighters Local 776 as well as worked with Glendale Community College to make improvements at the Department’s training center which supports not only the GFD but also is the main training site for the Verdugo Fire Academy. In addition to his role as Fire Chief, Chief Lanzas serves as the Region 1, Area C Coordinator, the LA Area Fire Chief’s Association Vice President, the Foothill Fire Chief’s President and the CALCHIEFS Southern Division Director. Throughout the pandemic he has been instrumental in keeping the community safe and healthy, having led several efforts in support of vaccination availability and access for residents. He also serves on several community boards including the YMCA and Dignity Health, Glendale Memorial Hospital Board. Prior to coming to Glendale, Chief Lanzas worked for CALFIRE for over 2 decades having risen through the ranks from Firefighter I to Division Chief. “Throughout my career, I have had the good fortune of working with some of the very best firefighters and fire professionals on the planet. Having served in the City of Glendale as the Fire Chief for almost 4 years and in an expanded role as the Deputy City Manager has been the highest honor of my career and an experience of which I will forever be proud”, said Chief Lanzas.
Chief Lanzas has been offered and accepted a leadership position in the private sector at M-FIRE Technologies as its Chief of Operations.
Glendale City Manager Roubik Golanian said of Lanzas, “Chief Lanzas has provided tremendous leadership of our Fire Department and displayed extraordinary care and concern for our community during an unprecedented pandemic and during our State’s most destructive wildfire years. Time and time again, Silvio has demonstrated his dedication to public service by helping the most vulnerable members of the community. He is an excellent team member whose “can do” spirit has forged partnerships with other service providers and agencies across the region. He will be truly missed. We will begin a nationwide recruitment for Fire Chief immediately and have asked that Silvio fully participate in the process and remain in his role until a replacement is found”.