City of Visalia Fire Department Press Release
Prior to coming to Visalia, he served as the Executive Director of the Colorado Fire Chiefs Association, Fire Chief and CEO of the West Metro Fire Protection District in the greater Denver area and a Chief Officer in the Fire Department for the City of Aurora, Colorado. He started his career in the fire service with Aurora in April of 1977 and will retire on May 10, 2019 from Visalia.
In his tenure with Visalia he oversaw the construction of Fire Station 53 at Atwood and Walnut, the Visalia Emergency Communication Center that houses the Dispatch Center, the Emergency Operations Center and Fire Administration. He has been involved in the modernization of the equipment and apparatus fleet for the fire department with the purchase of five new fire engines, a new ladder/quint aerial truck and a new Air/Light Unit Truck to better protect our citizens and our firefighters.
“I have been in the fire service most of my adult life and have been fortunate to work for three great fire departments. Most of all, I am honored to be the Fire Chief of Visalia which is truly a caring, committed professional organization taking care of the emergency needs of our citizens. I could not be more proud of the men and women I am fortunate to serve in VFD. It is a true honor to be the chief in our 150th year of service to our community and represent such an outstanding organization” stated Chief McBee.
Chief McBee is an active member of the International Fire Chief’s Association, California Fire Chiefs Association, California Municipal League of Fire Chiefs, Central Valley Fire Chiefs Association and past president of the Tulare Co / Kings Co Fire Chief Association. He is a graduate of the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy and has a Master’s Degree from the University of Colorado at Denver. He is looking forward to spending time with his family and traveling.