The Orange County Fire Authority Board of Directors voted Thursday to remove the interim from Chief TJ McGovern’s title as it continues its nationwide search for a long-term chief.
McGovern had been interim chief since Jan. 2. He has reaffirmed his commitment to retire when the agency completes its search for the next long-term chief..
“I am deeply humbled by the board’s decision to remove interim from my title, While I look forward to retirement, I remain fully committed to the OCFA, our people, and the nearly two million residents we serve until our next long-term fire chief is selected and onboarded through our current national search,” McGovern said in a statement.
“It is the highest honor of my career to continue standing with our people through this transition.”
McGovern began his fire service career in 1991 as an emergency transport technician with the San Clemente Fire Department before joining the Garden Grove Fire Department.
He was eventually promoted to interim fire chief, serving as the department prepared to join the OCFA in 2019.
McGovern has advanced through a series of leadership roles since joining the OCFA, including battalion chief, emergency duty officer, division chief of the emergency command center, assistant chief of field operations and deputy chief of the Emergency Operations Bureau.
He is a graduate of the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ Fire Service Executive Development Institute, holds a bachelor’s degree in fire administration, and serves on several local and statewide teams, including the Association of Contract Counties/Cal Fire, the FIRESCOPE Board of Directors, and the Fire Resource Ordering Process Workgroup, to which he was appointed through an executive order by Gov. Gavin Newsom.