CAL FIRE Battalion Chief David Acuña joins the PIO Podcast to walk through a career that started with the Orange County Fire Explorers back in 1986 and wound through paramedic work, a stretch away from the fire service entirely, and stops at Riverside County Fire, CAL FIRE, the Emergency Command Center, and now statewide Battalion Chief and Public Information Officer.
He breaks down what a CAL FIRE PIO actually does day to day, covering a coverage area that stretches from Siskiyou to San Diego, and shares a crash course in fire weather and behavior fundamentals including LCES.
Acuña talks about Aware California, a platform set to change how agencies share incident information, and talks candidly about the personal impact of the 2020 Creek Fire.
The conversation wraps with his thoughts on mentoring and recruiting the next generation of firefighters.