After 40 Years Of Firefighting Service, Morongo Chief Retires

MORONGO INDIAN RESERVATION, CA — After a 40-year career in firefighting, Fire Chief Kevin Gaines of the Morongo Fire Department has retired, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians announced this week.

A six-year veteran of the Morongo Fire Department, Gaines said he will miss "the members of my department and the many tribal members I have come to know over the years. Working for Morongo has been extremely fulfilling and I’m very proud of the strides that the Morongo Fire Department has made over the past six years with the support of a Tribal Council who is very committed to advancing public safety."

Morongo Fire Department Engineer/Advanced Life Support Coordinator Jason Carrizosa was tapped to follow in Gaines' boots as the department's new chief, the Tribe announced.

Carrizosa, an 11-year veteran of the department, is a Morongo Tribal Member and grew up on the reservation.

"I know Jason will do an amazing job as the department continues to move forward," Gaines said.

Gaines spent 34 years with Cal Fire before joining Morongo Fire in 2015. At Morongo, Gaines helped strengthen the Advanced Life Support and paramedic programs, brought on new state-of-the-art firefighting equipment and oversaw the department’s response to major incidents all across the San Gorgonio Pass, including the 33,000-acre Apple Fire in 2020, the Tribe said.

Under Gaines’ leadership, Morongo firefighters helped battle destructive wildland fires across California, such as the Woolsey Fire, Carr Fire and Camp Fire.

Gaines was integral in cultivating the Tribe’s strong mutual aid relationships with surrounding emergency service agencies in addition to directing efforts to protect Morongo residents and the Tribe’s environmental, cultural and economic resources during emergency incidents, the Tribe said.

“We are truly grateful to Chief Gaines who served Morongo with the highest levels of professionalism and demonstrated extraordinary leadership, expertise and compassion during critical incidents,” said Morongo Tribal Chairman Robert Martin. “As we wish Chief Gaines the best in his well-earned retirement, we are excited to welcome our new fire chief, Jason Carrizosa, who will continue to grow the department’s legacy for protecting life and property across the region.”

A Banning High School graduate, Carrizosa holds an undergraduate degree in business and marketing from Culver-Stockton College in Missouri, where he played collegiate baseball. He played rookie ball for the Kansas City Royals before returning home and graduating from Moreno Valley College’s fire academy.

“Having grown up on the Morongo reservation, it means the world to me to accept this position, which will allow me to protect the safety of my fellow tribal members and our neighbors in surrounding communities,” Carrizosa said. “I have some big shoes to fill, and I have immense respect for everything Chief Gaines accomplished to strengthen our department. I intend to continue along that path.”

The Morongo Fire Department, which was formed in the 1950s as a team of volunteer firefighters, is now made up of 24 full-time staff. From its inception, the department has responded to emergencies on the reservation, as well as in neighboring cities and across California.