From Loretta Kalb:
Fire Chief Steven Foster, who has headed a 157-square-mile fire district in southern Sacramento County since mid-2006, announced today that he will retire June 1.
Foster, 51, cited the profession's demands as motivation for leaving the Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Department, where he oversees more than 180 sworn fire personnel.
"It's time," he said in an interview. "It's public safety. This is a young man's game."
Foster executed consolidation of the former Elk Grove Community Services District and Galt Fire Protection District after a merger of the two entities was approved in late 2006.
The resulting Cosumnes CSD fire department provides fire protection to 169,000 residents throughout the Elk Grove area and the Galt.
Foster also oversaw planning and construction of the department's new fleet maintenance center and fire administration building, which is scheduled to open on East Stockton Boulevard in April. He was instrumental in passing a planning and fee funding program to build more fire stations and hire additional firefighters for the district.
Foster joined the department in 1985 as a consultant to build fire prevention programs in the fast-growing community. In 1990 he became a full-time battalion chief/assistant fire marshal. As assistant fire marshal, he sought to modernize the department,
He used technology to further the department's mission by promoting electronic fire response maps in fire engines. He oversaw creation of the Special Operations Division, which is responsible for the Urban Search and Rescue Program. He also guided expansion of the Community Emergency Response Team program, which includes more than 140 private citizens in the district.
He previously was president of the Sacramento County Fire Marshals and Fire Chiefs associations.
The community services district provides both fire and park services. District General Manager Jeff Ramos and the agency's board of directors is expected to hire a successor from within existing fire department ranks.
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