OA File Photo
Odessa Fire Rescue Fire Chief John Alvarez poses for a photo Friday afternoon, July 2, 2021, at OFR’s Central Station.
By Kim Smith
After 30 years with Odessa Fire Rescue and five years as chief, John Alvarez is retiring.
“I think it was time for me to move on to something else,” Alvarez said. “It’s better for me to move on and just move forward.”
His last day will be Jan. 6.
Alvarez is exploring some options, but said he will be staying in Odessa “for the meantime.”
He believes he’s leaving the department in excellent hands.
“We’ve got some good leaders in our department; I recently promoted (people) to assistant chief of EMS and assistant chief of administration and our operations chief is going to be there.”
Brad Reese is the assistant chief of administration and Daniel Chavez is now the assistant chief of EMS. Saul Ortega has been the chief of operations since January 2018.
Although OFR has lost more than 70 personnel during the last two years, in part because of low pay, Alvarez said the criticism he has received from some quarters via social media didn’t factor into his decision.
“I feel like I did everything correct as a fire chief,” Alvarez said. “I brought the (topic of) pay up, like I’m supposed to as the fire chief, way back when so I feel like I did my due diligence on that.”
Alvarez was hired by OFR in 1992 after having spent time in the U.S. Army and doing tours in Kansas and Germany. He was deployed during Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Alvarez worked his way up through the department and served as the assistant chief of operations before being named chief in October 2017. He has an associate’s degree from Odessa College, bachelor of arts from Western Illinois University and a master’s degree from Sul Ross State University.
