John Crivello has been a member of the fire service since 1979. He has held increasingly responsible positions in seven California counties. His background is diverse and substantial, including assignments in municipal service, fire district, county & state government ranging from firefighter, Engineer, Lieutenant, Captain, Training Officer & Chief Officer including serving as the first professional Fire Chief for the City of Soledad & Mission/Soledad Rural Fire District and more recently the City of Farmersville.
Chief Crivello holds an AS Degree and Certificate in Fire Technology from the College of the Sequoias and is currently pursuing a BS Degree in Fire Administration through Cogswell College and the National Fire Academy. He maintains certification from the State Board of Fire Services as Chief Officer, Fire Officer, Fire Instructor, Fire Prevention Officer, Firefighter III, and Driver/Operator II. He is ICS qualified in the State of California as a Safety Officer, Strike Team/Task Force Leader, and Division/Group Supervisor.
He is a member of the Tulare/Kings Fire Chiefs Association and past President (2004-2006) of the Tulare/Kings Fire Training Officers Association, having served as Secretary from 2001-2004. He is a Senior Fire Instructor for the State Fire Marshals Office and Adjunct Faculty at both COS and Porterville College, teaching in several disciplines including Structural & Wildland Firefighting, Hazardous Materials Response, and Fire Command & Management.
Chief Crivello is committed to community service as well as fire and life safety. He was appointed by the Tulare County Board of Supervisors to the Emergency Medical Care Committee in 2005 and currently serves as Chairman. Chief Crivello also served as a volunteer on the Board of Directors for the Tulare/Kings chapter of the American Red Cross.
Ted Mendoza, Chief
Chief Ted Mendoza comes to the Tulare County Fire Department with 32 years of fire service experience. He worked his way up through the ranks, starting his career with the California Department of Forestry and Protection (CDF) as a seasonal firefighter in San Diego County, and finishing his career with CDF as the Chief for the Fresno-Kings Unit where his co-lateral duties included being the Chief of the Fresno County and Fig Garden Fire Protection Districts.
His work history includes fire control and staff assignments in the counties of San Diego, Orange, Tehama, Tulare and Fresno. His assignments consisted of wildland fire control, rural local government fire protection, fire prevention, training, and administrative assignments. He has also served as logistics chief and incident commander on CDF Incident Command Teams and CDF representative on fire prevention to the Spanish media in California.
Chief Mendoza joined the Tulare County Fire Department on May 14, 2006, and holds the position of Operations Division Chief. His responsibilities include emergency incident management, vehicle maintenance, communication, facility maintenance and additional administrative duties as needed.
