Fire Department
Kim Raddatz, Fire Chief
Chief Raddatz joins the City of Salinas after serving as Director of Fire Service for the City of Coronado since 2003.Prior to his position as Director of Fire Service in Coronado, Chief Raddatz was a Fire Division Chief for the City of Coronado. Chief Raddatz also served as a Fire Captain for the Lakeside Fire Department and has a total of 31 years of fire service experience.
Chief Raddatz has extensive experience working with federal, State, regional and local agencies. As the Fire Services Director for the City of Coronado, he commanded over 35 firefighters and paramedics, who served the City from 2 fire stations. Served as the lead for the federal and State Disaster Preparedness Grant Program; implemented a five-year strategic plan; chaired the Fire-Life Safety Committee as a representative of the public safety portion of the $400 million Coronado Tunnel Project. Chief Raddatz is well respected by his peers in San Diego County, as evidenced by their selecting him to serve the southeast county area of San Diego County as Zone Coordinator. In this capacity, he was responsible for all fire operations in the zone, which includes 12 departments, 40 stations and over 150 square miles, covering 12 cities.
Chief Raddatz has been called upon to command and serve as coordinator in some very high profile fires in San Diego County, such as the Cedar Fire in 2003 and the San Diego wildfires in 2007. In addition to being a hands-on emergency services professional, Raddatz was recently selected by San Diego League of Cities City Managers to assist in the development of a Fire Chief Certification curriculum for San Diego’s Regional Training Center.
Chief Raddatz has a bachelor’s degree in business and management from the University of Phoenix in San Diego, California and an associate’s degree in Fire Science from Palomar College in San Marcos, California.
Chief Raddatz has been awarded two medals of Valor, one from the City of Lakeside and the second from the City of Coronado.