San Diego Fire Department Chief Javier Mainar

Posted on October 3, 2010

Javier Mainar was appointed Fire Chief for the City of San Diego on October 13, 2009 and confirmed by the City Council on Oct. 19, 2009. He joined the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department as a fire fighter in 1980, and progressed through the ranks of the Department. He became the Assistant Chief of Support Services in 2006.

As the Assistant Fire Chief, Mainar was responsible for Logistics areas of the Department for all Fire, Emergency Medical and Lifeguard Services, including Personnel, Budget, Fleet, Facilities, Fire Prevention, Dispatch, and Information Technology Services.

Chief Mainar’s former assignments were as firefighter through Battalion Chief in Operations; a supervising fire and bomb investigator with the Metro Arson Strike Team (MAST); Human Resources Officer; and Plans Officer for the Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR). During the October 2007 wildfires, Mainar was the City’s Incident Commander, directing the firefighting operations within the city in the largest wildfire in San Diego’s history.

As Chief, he directs a department of more than 1,200 people with a budget just under $200 million. His salary is approximately $166,000.

Mainar has an Associate degree in Fire Science from Miramar College and a B.A. in Public Administration from San Diego State University. Chief Mainar is 52 years old, married and has three children; a son who is a firefighter in the department, and two younger daughters. They live in Rancho San Diego.