A firefighter who has worked in San Diego for nearly three decades is offered the top job at the department.
Assistant Chief Javier Mainar served as the incident commander for the 2007 wildfires. Tuesday, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders announced he had selected Mainar to be the city's next fire chief.
Former Chief Tracy Jarman retired several months ago.
Mainar said he knows that there are big budget challenges ahead for the department but that he's ready to take those on and ensure public safety.
"We consume a large portion of the general fund," Mainar said Tuesday. "It's only reasonable to expect were going to assist in filling that gap. But we haven't yet had the opportunity to determine specific cuts. We don't yet know what the targets are for reductions in our department, but at this point everything is on the table."
The City Council's confirmation process for Mainar could happen as early as next week.
