A current battalion chief has been appointed to serve interim chief for the Lompoc Fire Department.

Battalion Chief Kevin Shay will fill the role after the departure of Brian Fallon, who left to lead the Montecito Fire Protection District.

“I leave knowing the department is in very capable hands under the leadership of Battalion Chief Kevin Shay, and I am confident he will continue to guide the organization forward,” Fallon said.

Shay, a native of Santa Clarita, joined the Lompoc Fire Department in 2008. 

He studied at College of the Canyons and Cal State University, Fullerton. Shay initially worked as an ambulance emergency medical technician in Los Angeles, and was a volunteer firefighter for the city of Fillmore before he moved to Lompoc.

Fallon was hired to lead the Lompoc agency in December 2022, arriving in January 2023 on the Central Coast with more than 20 years of firefighting and emergency response experience. 

He was officially appointed as Montecito’s fire chief on Wednesday.

Lompoc has launched a recruitment process to hire a new fire chief.