City Council Confirms New Fire Chief

Battalion Chief Millage Peaks became the new head of the Los Angeles Fire Department on Friday, making him the second black man to assume that post in the agency's 126-year history.

"I pledge that I will do everything in my power to protect the people that live and work inside the city of Los Angeles," the 33-year LAFD veteran said after his nomination was unanimously confirmed by the City Council. "I want to be the best fire chief that we've ever had."

Peaks, 56, assumed control over the LAFD in an interim capacity at the beginning of the month, following Chief Douglas Barry's retirement. He will receive a salary of $260,000.

Peaks takes over at a critical time for the department which, faced with a $53 million budget shortfall, has been forced to take 15 fire trucks and nine ambulances out of service every day to avoid the cost of staffing them with firefighters on overtime pay.

Peaks vowed to change the department's business model to improve its cash flow.

"Our business model is the same business model that we have had for the 126 years that we've been in existence," he said. "I'm working together with my staff to look at changing the trajectory of the upper management, start doing some out-of-the-box thinking, looking at more efficient ways to deliver our service, more economical ways to deliver our service.

"We're looking at revenue flows, revenue streams, (to) see how we can increase our input on cash," Peaks said. "We're not interested in cutting service at all. If anything, we'd like to improve service."

His years as one of the department's top employee relations officers is expected to be useful in dealing with United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, which has bitterly opposed the service cuts.

The union's president, Pat McOsker, said his father and brother -- both firefighters -- have worked with Peaks over the years and consider him a friend.

"We really need to have that rapport," McOsker said.

The new fire chief vowed to continue reforms aimed at ending hazing and discrimination in the department.

"We need to institutionalize all the changes and the controls that Chief Barry implemented," he said. "I think that what I'd like to do is just stand on his shoulders, build on what he's done, continue our zero-tolerance mantra amongst our people."

Peaks added he hopes to increase the ranks of women and minorities in the department and improve community outreach efforts.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has said he nominated Peaks out of the 12 candidates considered by the Board of Fire Commissioners because he was "the right man at the right time."

"In these uncertain times, we need a certain kind of leader -- a leader who can act decisively in the face of turmoil; a leader who can manage effectively during this historic budget deficit; a leader who can think creatively when the old ways of doing business no longer apply," the mayor said earlier.

Peaks was previously the battalion chief supervising fire stations at Los Angeles International Airport, Westchester, Venice and Mar Vista.

He has also supervised fire stations in South Los Angeles, the Mid- Wilshire District and West Los Angeles since joining the department in 1976.

Villaraigosa said he was most impressed by Peaks' actions in 1995, when he was named to an investigation team tasked with reviewing allegations that female recruits were being mistreated.

When the team concluded the allegations were unfounded, Peaks broke rank with then-Chief Donald Manning and testified before a City Council committee that he believed the allegations were true.

Peaks also supervised the internal investigation into firefighter Tennie Pierce's allegation that a hazing incident was racially motivated. Pierce sued the city -- and received a multimillion-dollar settlement -- after a Latino and two white firefighters slipped dog food into his spaghetti at a fire station.

Peaks called the incident "grave" and said his report on the investigation was altered by one of the department's top commanders.

Born in Berkeley, Peaks graduated from El Camino Community College, where he studied chemistry, and went on to Cal State Dominguez Hills, where he earned a bachelor's degree in psychology.