CATHEDRAL CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT
William Soqui / Fire Chief
Fire Chief

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).
·
Collaboration with other public safety agencies in Riverside County to
implement GST (mobile tracking software). This system will provide mapping
and unit tracking to all public safety agencies in the Coachella Valley
and surrounding areas.
·
Participates as a Strike Team Leader when called upon for OES wildfire
assignments, providing expertise to Strike Team Leaders in training while
leading crews into wildland firefighting assignments.
·
Participates as an advisor to the College of the Desert Public Safety
Academy Fire Technology Program.
·
Serves as a committee member of the League of California Cities Public
Safety Committee.
Currently,
Chief Soqui participates in the following organizations:
·
Board of Directors, Coachella Valley Emergency Managers Association (CVEMA)
·
Fire
Chiefs Liaison to the Riverside County Arson Task Force
·
Member, Riverside County Fire Chiefs Association
·
Member, California Fire Chiefs Association
·
Member, International Association of Fire Chiefs
·
Member, League of California Cities
·
Member, Municipal Management Association of Southern California
Chief
Soqui has three children and currently has his primary residence in
Beaumont, California.

For
Comments/Suggestions Regarding This Site.
Published Copyright 2004 Cathedral City Fire Department