20-year AFD veteran named chief

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Mayor-elect R.J. Berry on Tuesday named Battalion Commander James Breen the new fire chief for the department he's been a part of for nearly 20 years.

Breen will replace Chief Robert Ortega when Berry takes office next Tuesday, Dec. 1.

He's been a part of the department since 1990, and for the past six years has been in charge of Fire Station No. 3 in the Southeast Heights, the busiest area of the city.

Breen is nationally recognized as an expert in rescue operations and was an instructor for the National Fire Protection Association and for the city's Fire Academy. He also assisted in rescue efforts following Hurricane Katrina and was deployed to the Pentagon after the 9-11 attacks.

Breen said he's honored and excited to take over as fire chief and already has 25 goals for the department and 75 objectives to meet.

He said he wants to improve safety for city firefighters, as well as increase the department's cost-effectiveness and job performance.

"I want to identify wasteful practices within the department," he said. "I want to look at our organizational structure to identify positions that don't support our mission. We need to look at consolidating public safety resources with other metro fire departments so that we all can benefit from the cost savings."