Bishop City Council welcomes new fire department chief

Bret Rusell comes from fire-fighting family

The Bishop City Council at its regular meeting Monday formally welcomed Bret Russell as the city’s new Bishop Volunteer Fire Department chief.

Rusell, who replaced Chief Joe Dell, served as the fire chief for the city of Beckwourth, California, before being offered the top firefighter’s job in Bishop back in August.

According to the city, Russell will bring an extensive record of fire-fighting and leadership experience with him.

After his swearing in Monday, Rusell recounted how he grew up in a firefighter family.

Rusell said his earliest memories are of a fire station, hanging out with his dad, who was an active fire chief in Arizona at the time, and watching the inner workings of a fire department.

He recalled Monday how he participated in his first ride along at 15 years old and was hooked after his first Code 3 (lights and sirens) run.

Rusell joined the Fire Explorers with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) shortly after this experience and started down the path to becoming a firefighter.

He was soon hired as a reserve, paid on-call firefighter with OCFA and was sent directly to the academy. His path has allowed him to have a wide variety of experiences with different agencies as a professional firefighter, fire chief, training chief, Urban Search and Rescue logistics technician and as a Regional Occupational Program instructor teaching emergency medical response, emergency medical technician, and fire technology.

Rusell said he is excited to be the fire chief for Bishop and is looking forward to the future with the city.

Outside of the fire service, Rusell is a seconddegree Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, and actively competes and teaches. He and his family look forward to meeting the community and being a part of all it offers.

Photo by Gayla Wolf/The Honey Bee – To see other event pictures, call Gayla Wolf, (760) 872-4015 Crossroads Recovery Center hosted its grand opening on Wednesday at 536 W. Line St., in Bishop. Crossroads serves community members who are returning home and need support, are struggling with substance misuse as well as case management and recovery support. For more information, call Arlene at (760) 937-4270.

Photo courtesy of the city of Bishop Bret Russell, left, is sworn in by Bishop Mayor Jim Ellis Monday in front of the Bishop City Council, his family and members of the public. Russell was the fire chief for the city of Beckwourth, California, before coming to Bishop.