Chief Soqui started his career in the fire service as a reserve firefighter in Escondido with the Rincon Del Diablo Fire Department. In 1981, he took a job working for the Reservation Fire Department covering seven Indian reservations in north San Diego County. In 1982, he joined the fire department in the City of Rialto, California serving as a firefighter/paramedic until 1990 when he was appointed as a Fire Captain. In this capacity, he was a Hazardous Materials Specialist, Fire Investigator, and served on a city Budget Analyst Committee as well as supervising mapping projects, Explorers, Hazardous Materials and Special Hazards. In 1997, he was appointed as Fire Division Chief/Fire Battalion Chief with responsibilities to manage the operations division; and, emergency medical and ambulance services, training, hazardous materials and technical rescue. In February 2002, he accepted an appointment as Deputy Fire Marshal for the City of Santa Clara, California fire department and in this capacity is involved in conducting fire life safety inspections of all occupancies and addressing various development, fire prevention, and investigative matters, while he has also assisted with training for the 180 line member department.

Chief Soqui earned an Associate of Science Degree in 1989 in Fire Technology and Emergency Medical Services from Crafton Hills College where he was named the College Board Outstanding Minority Student. He then went on to earn his Bachelor of Science Degree in 1995 in Business Administration and Management from the University of Redlands. In his 25 years of fire service he has gained experience and education in fire administration, fire protection, emergency medical and ambulance operations, fire prevention and code enforcement, principles and techniques of reserve management, and hazardous materials training. In addition, he has gained experience in budgeting and personnel practices from both the administrative and employee representative perspectives. Further he has served as a consultant offering training and fire life safety compliance courses in English and Spanish to multinational corporations.

Included in his experience is having served on the Board of Directors and the Executive Board of the California Association of Professional Firefighters, including serving as Vice President, President for 10 years, and also as the Chairman of the Board. He has also served on the Executive Board and as President of the National Association of Professional Firefighters and Peace Officers Long Term Care Plan as well as on the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. While in Rialto he also served on the Arrowhead United Way Board of Directors, campaign cabinet, and asset allocation team, as well as also serving on the Board of Directors, Fiscal Committee and Personnel Committee for Catholic Charities of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.
 

Some of his accomplishments in his 17 months with the Cathedral City Fire Dept. include:

·         Collaborated with Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack in the development of the MATCH Act (H.R. 1759, Managing Arson Through Criminal History) and testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. HR 1758 was passed by the House on December 5, 2007 and is currently awaiting passage in the Senate.

·         Implementation of a computerized Code Enforcement program that enables officers to perform administrative tasks while in the field (ComCate).