Staff

Chief Mazza retired as the Fire Chief for the City of Monterey, California, where he engineered and facilitated the consolidation of the Monterey and Pacific Grove fire departments in 2008. His fire service career spans 38 years with city, county, special district, and state fire agencies and includes administration, operations, air operations, training, dispatch, disaster planning and management, fire prevention, and law enforcement experience. He served as the Incident Commander on a statewide Incident Management Team and continues to serve as a member of the Monterey County Emergency Operations Center staff. Chief Mazza holds a bachelor’s degree from California State University, Fresno, and an associate degree in Fire Science from Fresno City College, and he is a graduate of the Executive Fire Officer Program.

Chief Mazza has extensive collaborative experience, having served elected and appointed positions in numerous professional organizations and on regional committees and initiatives. He has served as the Fire and Rescue Coordinator and chaired the California Incident Command Certification System Peer Review Committee for the California Emergency Management Agency Monterey County Operational Area, and he also served on the Monterey County Operational Area Grant Approval Authority for the California Department of Homeland Security. He has served as President of the Monterey County Fire Chiefs Association and represented county fire agencies on committees providing governance and policy oversight of the Monterey County voice and data emergency communications and dispatch systems. He obtained grant funding and facilitated implementation of a mobile data communications system for Monterey County fire agencies in 2010 and initiated and led the continuing effort to develop a regional shared governance fire agency for the Monterey Peninsula.