By Jonathan Friedman
Lookout Staff

As he moved up through the fire service ranks in Washington, Arizona and California, Scott Ferguson always kept his eye on Santa Monica. So when he took the helm of the City’s Fire Department on March 29, he fulfilled “a bit of a dream.”

“Santa Monica is the nexus,” Ferguson says. “It is the state, the area, and the kind of department that I’ve been trying to work for my entire career."

Ferguson received training from Santa Monica Fire Department (SMFD) officials during leadership classes as a firefighter in other departments and was impressed with California's cutting-edge system.

“They have a mutual aid program unmatched anywhere in the world and L.A. County is the hub of all of it,” says Ferguson, referring to the State system that allows one community to help another during an emergency.

Ferguson got his first taste of leading a California department at his previous job heading the Manhattan Beach fire force. He oversaw large events, such as the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix bicycle race and the AVP volleyball tournament, which annually attracts nearly 60,000 people.

Ferguson also has experience with concentrated areas like Downtown Santa Monica, having worked as a fire official in Vancouver, Washington, which plays host each year to the largest fireworks show west of the Mississippi River.

“Downtown Vancouver is very similar to Downtown Santa Monica,” Ferguson says. “It has the same type of concentration of people, with high rises, two major freeways and it’s next to Columbia River.”

A Fire Department’s approach to an area like Downtown Santa Monica takes a special kind of focus, Ferguson says.

“Anytime you get that many people together, and you end up with a higher hazard, those are the areas where you have to concentrate your resources,” he says.
“You also get quite a few special events.”

For Ferguson, fire service is in the genes. His father retired as a chief in Washington State. His brother and son are also firefighters. But Ferguson didn't intend to get into that line of work. As he approached college age, his original plan was to take his writing and creative skills into advertising.

“Firefighting became an option over one phone call,” Ferguson says. “I talked to my father about my career and my future. And he asked me if I’d ever thought about being a firefighter. I quizzed him a little bit more, and within a month I was enrolled. The rest is history.”

Born in Californian, Ferguson grew up in Washington State and began his career as a part-time firefighter in Federal Way, Washington. He soon took a full-time job in Richland, Washington in 1984. Then four years later, he began his long tenure in Vancouver. He remained there until 2002 when he took a fire officer position in Peoria, Arizona. This was followed by the Manhattan Beach position in 2007.

“I love the adrenaline of what it brings,” Ferguson says about fire service. “Every day that you show up for work, you think that you may have a map of what the day is going to be like. But depending on what the alarm brings, it’s completely different.”

Ferguson -- who teaches classes in leadership, tactics and strategy in both Arizona and California -- calls himself a strategic planner who likes to work with others to accomplish tasks. But nobody should expect him to bring in a new plan to radically change the SMFD.

Ferguson says he doesn't plan to "bring a template from what I did at other places” and is not yet sure what changes he will make. “The best I can do is bring my experience,” he says.

When Ferguson isn't working, he enjoys "just hanging out" with his wife Maria. The couple enjoys hiking, motorcycle riding and working out.