West Bureau Commander

Deputy Chief Phillip T. Fligiel is the Commander of Operations West Bureau for the Los Angeles City Fire Department (LAFD).  He is responsible for overseeing and coordinating all Fire Department field and administrative operations that encompass the Hollywood, Westchester, and Westside areas of Los Angeles including Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).  Accountable to his command are an Assistant Chief, nine Battalion Chiefs, and all subordinate personnel on-duty at twenty Fire Stations and specialized resources serving a population of 136,549 residents and business owners.

With 32 years of experience on the LAFD, he has held several key positions in the Department and promoted through the ranks.  His previous Departmental experience includes: Deputy Chief of Operations Central Bureau, Battalion Chief, Captain II, Captain I, Engineer, and Firefighter/Paramedic.  Throughout his distinguished career, he held staff positons in the Homeland Security Division, In-Service Training Section, and has worked at field assignments in all four geographic bureaus of the Department.  Chief Fligiel is a skilled manager with proven leadership.  His experience will assist him to organize and provide vision and direction for Operations West Bureau.

Chief Fligiel’s top four priorities for Operations West Bureau include providing exceptional public safety and emergency services; building and maintaining valuable relationships with residents and civic groups; improving internal communications and accountability for efficiency for both fire members and the community; and ensuring the Operation West Bureau’s superior operational performance.

As a Deputy Chief for the past ten years, Chief Fligiel’s vast operational experience includes supervising the command at multiple major emergency and greater alarm commercial building, high rise, brush, swift water, hazardous materials, and multi-casualty emergencies.

Chief Fligiel is a qualified California Incident Command Certification System (CICCS) Type I Planning Section Chief.  He has served the State of California as a member of CAL FIRE Incident Management Teams 1 and 9.  For seven seasons, he has assisted with the mitigation of multiple significant wildfires throughout the State of California.  In addition to first responder services, Chief Fligiel provides tactical and operational leadership in multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional public safety planning, and response for significant events and incidents within the City.

Chief Fligiel is a Los Angeles native that grew-up in the west San Fernando Valley.  At age fifteen, he realized his dream of becoming a Firefighter and entered the Fire Explorer (Cadet) program with the LAFD.  He was hired by the LAFD in 1992.  Chief Fligiel has earned a Bachelor’s degree in Emergency Services Management, a certificate in Fire Administration, and holds a variety of other certifications focusing on leadership and emergency incident management.  Chief Fligiel believes it is an honor and a privilege to be a member of the Los Angeles City Fire Department.