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SLO appoints interim fire chief to permanent position

May 19, 2026

SLO Fire Chief Randy Harris

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

The city of San Luis Obispo has removed the interim tag for Fire Chief Randy Harris.

Harris had been serving as the city’s interim fire chief since January. Effective Monday, he is San Luis Obispo’s new fire chief.

Earlier this year, the city conducted nationwide recruitment for a fire chief. Strong candidates were identified, but none were hired, the city stated in a news release on Monday announcing Harris as the new chief.

Harris came out of retirement to serve as the San Luis Obispo’s interim chief. He had recently retired from the city of Paso Robles, where he served in the fire department for 28 years. Harris retired as deputy fire chief in Paso Robles.

“In a demonstration of true leadership, Randy graciously offered to come out of retirement to serve our community as the fire chief in the longer-term,” SLO City Manager Whitney McDonald said in a statement. “We are so fortunate to have Randy on our team, and I know he will continue to serve the community well.”

Harris says he is excited to continue serving the community, building strong leadership within the fire department and building strong relationships in the city.

“As interim fire chief, I have experienced tremendous support of the city’s leadership team and the entire department,” Harris said. “There are several critical fire department needs that will require solid leadership over the coming years, which is why I offered to continue leading our fire department team.”

Harris manages the fire department’s $18 million budget and leads a team of about 60 full-time workers. The city is preparing to build and, in the coming years, open Fire Station 5.

 


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5 Comments

No offense to this public safety servant, but why did the city hire someone who has already retired from one police department and will probably leave his service in SLO within a short time–just long enough to raise his retirement due to a higher salary. It would seem promoting from within or hiring a deputy or assistant chief from another department not already or ready for retirement. We can’t seem to keep our Fire Chiefs here for very long. This may not be the way to change that.


15

You’re assuming he is not already double dipping, receiving both a pension and compensation from SLO. Agree why we seldom see departments promote from within, preparing for top people to retire or leave and have a repalcement ready without having to spend big taxpayer funds on a “consultant for a nationwide search”, but they love to use consultants, especially when the consultants have a close relationship, cough couch, with those deciding to use them.


14

What if the consultants did what they were paid to do and identified qualified candidates who passed through the whole process and then turned down the position?


1

You inadvertently nailed the elephant in the room in this article — “retired” (under a cloud) fire chief Tuggle is now a consultant, also double-dipping!


1

It’s odd that a “nationwide recruitment” often ends up finding the guy sitting at the next desk.


1