Brian Fennessy became fire chief of the Orange County, CA, Fire Authority in 2018. He began his career in 1978 with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, working as a hotshot crewmember, hotshot/helishot/helitack captain and, ultimately, crew superintendent. In 1990, Fennessy joined the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) and, ultimately, became chief of department in 2015. While he was with the SDFD, he developed and established a fire/rescue/EMS helicopter program. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Fennessy is chair of the FIRESCOPE board of directors and of the California Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association.