At 3 p.m. Friday, the Lompoc Fire Department will be conducting a ceremony celebrating promotions of three members of the department: Capt. Mike Brown to battalion chief, engineer Jeff Edman to captain and firefighter John Stefan to engineer.
In addition, the department will be swearing in six new firefighters: David Boeken, Scott Beckler, Matt Hayes, Louis Farah, Cody Lee and Matt Slipich.
The addition of these six new firefighters is a result of the department being awarded one of the highly coveted Assistance to Firefighters SAFER grants.
The award of this grant and the addition of these new firefighters and promotions will bring the department’s staffing level to one that is consistent with the community risk and citizens’ service expectations.
The ceremony will take place in the Council Chambers at Lompoc City Hall, 100 Civic Center Plaza.
— Kurt Latipow is chief of the Lompoc Fire Department.