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Interim fire Chief Juan Diaz will permanently fill the top post in the Mountain View Fire Department. Diaz first joined the city in 2014 and has served as interim fire chief since Brad Wardle left the position in May.
City officials stated in a press release that Diaz was the best candidate for the job, even after conducting a nationwide search for candidates.
Diaz has a compelling personal background as a Cuban expatriate who arrived in the South Bay as a teenager in the 1980s speaking minimal English. In an interview with the Voice earlier this year, Diaz described how he enrolled in firefighting classes at De Anza Community College while working as a janitor in the evenings. He has since completed a bachelor’s degree in Fire Science and Emergency Management as well as earning other certificates in fire service.
Diaz has 27 years of firefighting experience, most of it with the San Jose Fire Department. He joined Mountain View last year as a deputy fire chief.
As the new fire chief, Diaz will start on Sept. 13 with a salary of $242,000 a year, according to the city.
