BUTTE COUNTY, CA (MPG) – On Monday, June 15th, CAL FIRE Director Thom Porter appointed John Messina Unit Chief for the Butte Unit. Chief Messina, by becoming the Unit Chief, assumes the role of Fire Chief of Butte County Fire Department, cities of Gridley and Biggs Fire Departments, and Town of Paradise Fire Department. Chief Messina will oversee 22 fire stations, 290 full time firefighters, 108 seasonal firefighters, and 140 volunteer firefighters.

Chief Messina brings more than 29 years of fire service experience to the position. John started his careers in the CAL FIRE/Butte County Fire Department in 1999 and worked in several fire department ranks before working at his most recent position as an Assistant Chief of North Division Operations, including the Town of Paradise. Chief Messina has worked in various programs within CAL FIRE, including the Air Program, Field Battalions, Training Cadres, and as a Deputy Incident Commander of one of CAL FIRE’s Incident Management Teams. Chief Messina graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor’s degree in Geography with an emphasis in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

In 2016, Chief Messina was awarded the Governors Medal of Valor for rescuing a family from flooded waters in southern Butter County. Chief Messina has also traveled to other departments around the state sharing his fire experiences to help better prepare this profession for the growing intensity of wildfires.

“CAL FIRE/Butte County Fire has some of the most talented firefighters the profession has to offer. They have helped lead Butte County and Paradise through these past few years of disaster,” said the new Fire Chief. “There’s nowhere else I would rather be than in Butte County leading these firefighters.” Chief Messina resides in Durham with his wife and two children.