The city of Fairfield has a new fire chief.

City Manager David Gassaway announced that John Sturdee has moved from interim fire chief to permanent fire chief.

“John has done a stellar job in his time as interim chief and despite incredible competition in the recruitment process, demonstrated what it takes to be a great chief,” said Gassaway in a community newsletter.

Sturdee became interim chief in August after former Fire Chief Matt Luckenbach retired. His career with Fairfield Fire began back in 1989 when he worked as a volunteer firefighter. By 1996 he had become a firefighter and paramedic with the department, a fire engineer in 2002, fire captain in 2005, battalion chief in 2013 and then deputy chief in 2020.

According to Gassaway, Sturdee has been named Fire Officer of the Year and has twice been named Firefighter of the Year. He has also been given two city manager commendations and two awards for life saving.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.