Paul Lepore is a shift Division Chief for a fire department in Southern California. In addition to managing the emergency responses for the City, his responsibilities include managing the EMS Division, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), and the CERT program. Chief Lepore also develops the department’s promotional and entry-level examinations.
Prior to this position, Chief Lepore spent 23 years on the Long Beach Fire Department. He spent 5 years as a Battalion Chief working predominantly in the northern part of the city. He was also assigned as the Battalion Chief in charge of the EMS Division for two years. He feels very fortunate to have run some major incidents typical of a big city fire department, including working as a member of the Operations Section during the Paradise Gardens Apartments fire, the largest in the city for the past 25 years. Chief Lepore has also managed some challenging personnel issues during his tenure as a chief officer. He has written, developed and proctored numerous promotional examinations, and shares both his operational and administrative experience with others to help them achieve their promotional goals.
Chief Lepore entered the fire service as a civilian Paramedic for the Los Angeles City Fire Department in 1985. After completing his education at the Los Angeles County Paramedic Training Institute, Lepore worked in the high impact area of South Central, Los Angeles. He was hired by the Long Beach Fire Department in 1986 and completed a 12-week academy. He spent the next two years working as a firefighter until he was promoted to firefighter/ paramedic. Lepore was promoted to Fire Captain in 1998 and to Battalion Chief in 2005. He took an outside Division Chief promotional exam for a neighboring department, where he was hired in 2010.
Chief Lepore possesses a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocational Education from California State University, Long Beach. He also earned an AS degree in Fire Science from Santa Ana College.
Lepore has conducted hundreds of entry-level interviews, as well as served as a rater for dozens of Battalion Chief and Captain’s promotional exams. He holds instructor credentials for EMT, Hazardous Materials and Weapons of Mass Destruction.
He has presented to local and national audiences at Firehouse World in San Diego and Las Vegas, the CSFA Conference in Long Beach, as well as the Northern California Training Officer’s conference. Presentation topics include Tactics and Strategy, Promoting in the Fire Service, and Formulating a Plan to Promote. He has also conducted numerous seminars to teach and mentor entry-level candidates.
Chief Lepore and his wife founded EMS Safety Services, a corporation which provides emergency response training programs, and sells quality, cost-effective emergency response products. Lepore and his lovely wife Marian have two daughters, Ashley and Samantha, and two granddaughters.
As an avid saltwater fisherman he has also written a book titled, “Sport Fishing in Baja”.
In 2014, Chief Lepore was recognized as a Certified Chief Officer through the National Center for Public Safety Excellence. He is one of only 200 Chief Officers in the country to receive this highly acclaimed designation.
To contact Chief Lepore – PLepore@AspiringFireOfficers.com
