By Rick Orlov
The Daily News
LOS ANGELES — Unlike most in his profession, Assistant Fire Chief Daryl Arbuthnott did not grow up dreaming of becoming a firefighter.
“I wanted to be a TV cameraman,” Arbuthnott said. “I was studying cinema at Los Angeles City College when a fire recruiter came by.”
The department was doing an active outreach for African Americans and Arbuthnott was intrigued.
“I was definitely helped by affirmative action,” he said. “But once I got in the department, I knew it was for me.”
Even with the hazing and racial bias that he and other black firefighters had to experience, Arbuthnott stuck it out.
Today, 34 years later, he is an assistant chief and has been named as the first chief of the new San Fernando Valley bureau to be created in the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Arbuthnott, 54, who worked his way up through the ranks in a variety of assignments, has been assistant chief in charge of operations for the entire department.
So, in a sense, taking on the Valley Bureau assignment is a step down, going from authority over all 102 fire stations and 3,000 firefighters to 46 stations and a crew of some 500 firefighters.
But he believes the new system will dramatically improve the department.
“I consider this an honor,” Arbuthnott said. “I have wanted to make changes that will leave the department better than it is.”
The bureau concept, modeled after how the Los Angeles Police Department operates, was recommended by consultants and embraced by Mayor Eric Garcetti as a way to improve accountability and response times.
Arbuthnott said he agrees with that, but it provides even more.
“A lot of people in the community don’t know who to talk to in the Fire Department if they have a problem,” Arbuthnott said. “Under this system, they can talk to me.”
Arbuthnott grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from Marshall High School.
His first job with the city was when he was a 14-year-old when he worked for now-Councilman Tom LaBonge, who was a 19-year-old supervisor on a city beautification program started by former Mayor Tom Bradley.
“I can still give him a certain signal that means get off the truck and pick up that couch,” LaBonge joked. “We both laugh about it. No one deserves to be Valley chief more than Daryl. He likes people, which is the most important part of the job.”
Even members of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City support him.
“As a young firefighter, I had the pleasure of working with Chief Arbuthnott for years in the Crenshaw District of South Los Angeles,” UFLAC President Frank Lima said. “He is a dedicated leader in our Fire Department and will serve the residents of the San Fernando Valley well as their new chief.”
After joining the department, Arbuthnott was able to go on to get his college degree as well as a graduate degree in risk management from Boston College.
Several years ago, he created a consulting firm, Executive Crisis Management and Associates, working with companies outside the city. However, he said he will be giving up that job as he takes on his new responsibilities.
Since being named chief of the Valley Bureau, Arbuthnott has been developing his plans for what he hopes to accomplish.
He is looking for a permanent headquarters and wants to develop a three-point plan based on operations, interaction with the community and pushing internal changes.
“I think putting a chief right there in the environment can get things done,” Arbuthnott said. “I will be able to react immediately to some of the issues that come up.”
Also, he said, he wants to develop community advisory boards similar to what the LAPD has done to improve relations with the community and provide a regular forum for residents to voice concerns.
The new system also allows for a follow-up on how the department responds to specific incidents.
“It will allow us to be more accountable and provide for better integration. We will be able to do more follow-up on a fire and look at what we did.”
Likewise, he believes the new Firestat program will be of value.
“It has documented many of the things I knew but couldn’t prove,” Arbuthnott said. “Now with Firestat I will have the proof to make my points. And I think it will help our officers to make sure we are doing the job.”
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