Chris Donovan

Chief Donovan (Ret.) is a 33-year veteran of the fire service, including 15 years as a fire chief within the Los Angeles County region. Chief Donovan started his career with the Monterey Park Fire Department, gaining invaluable fire and emergency medical services experience from entry-level firefighter through the rank of Battalion Chief – 15 years as a certified paramedic. In 2006 he was appointed the Monrovia Fire Chief and then transitioned as Fire Chief to El Segundo in 2016 where he completed his career in 2021. Chief Donovan has been an advocate of progressive fire and life safety service delivery his entire career, focusing on organizational and employee development through the lens of training, process improvement, and program implementation in support of the communities he served.

Chief Donovan has extensive experience with large-scale projects and programs that benefited the entire Los Angeles County public safety arena. Having served on the Los Angeles Area Fire Chiefs Association (LAAFCA) Board of Directors for 12 years, including a year as President of the group, Chief Donovan was heavily involved in regional homeland security grants, the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System (LA-RICS), the Los Angeles Regional Training Group (RTG) and the LAAFCA strategic plan which established key milestones that positively supported the 9,000 professional firefighters serving within Los Angeles County.

Chief Donovan holds a B.S. in Fire Protection Administration from California State University, Los Angeles, a M.S. in Emergency Management from California State University, Long Beach and the preeminent Executive Fire Officer Certification from the National Fire Academy located in Emmitsburg, Md.