Jodie Gray appointed as City of Temecula’s Fire Chief
TEMECULA — Temecula Mayor Mike Naggar together with CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Chief Shawn Newman welcome Jodie Gray as newly appointed Fire Chief for the City of Temecula.
Mayor Naggar states, “Chief Gray is committed to providing the highest level of fire protection to Temecula citizens and businesses.” Naggar added, “She has 28 years of exemplary fire service and experience that I’m confident will be an asset to our Fire Department.”
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Chief Gray started her fire service career in 1991 as a volunteer firefighter at Home Gardens Fire Station 13 in Corona. CAL FIRE hired Gray as a Firefighter I in 1993 at Perris Station 1, and she has since been promoted several times throughout CAL FIRE in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.
In 1994, she became Firefighter II for the Riverside unit assigned to the engine and truck company in the Cove Communities, and was promoted again in 1996 to Fire Apparatus Engineer for the Lake Elsinore Battalion where she worked schedule A and Schedule B.
In 2003, she accepted a Limited Term Fire Captain position in the San Bernardino Unit, at the Highland Station, Schedule B and soon after accepted a permanent Fire Captain position at Lake Hills Station 82 in Riverside. Gray transferred to the Perris Emergency Command Center for 4 years before serving the Temecula community from 2010 to 2013 as a Fire Captain assigned to Station 84 on Pauba Road.
In 2013, she promoted to Battalion Chief for the City of La Quinta and then transferred in 2015 to the San Jacinto Battalion, where she also managed the County Hazardous Material Team Program. While managing the program she obtained her Hazmat Technician Certification.
Throughout her career, she has worked on fire assignments throughout the State and in Southern Region as Expanded Dispatch Supervisor. In December 2017, she promoted to Division Chief assigned to the Strategic Planning Bureau.
In February 2019, after an extensive and competitive process, Chief Gray was appointed as Fire Chief for the City of Temecula. “I am honored and excited to be back in Temecula,” stated Gray. Chief Gray and her family reside in the Temecula Valley.
Submitted by City of Temecula
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Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.