Huntington Beach tabs Eric McCoy as new fire chief

Eric McCoy started working for the city of Huntington Beach in 1997.

As a teenager at Edison High School, he was hired as an ocean lifeguard and ambulance operator.

Public safety has remained McCoy’s realm for decades. Now, he’s the fire chief in his hometown.

McCoy has been selected as the Huntington Beach fire chief, the city announced Thursday via a news release.

“It’s such an honor and a blessing to be able to take this spot,” McCoy said in an interview with the Daily Pilot. “I’m really excited to lead the men and women of the fire department and continue to serve the community that I grew up in. It’s a dream, for sure.”

He said he believes he’s the city’s first internal fire chief in the last 25 years.

McCoy, 44, worked briefly for the Fountain Valley Fire Department before returning to Huntington Beach in 2006 as a firefighter and paramedic. During the coronavirus pandemic, he said he got moved from his fire suppression duties and he has held roles including public information officer, Marine Safety Division chief and, most recently, deputy chief of operations.

McCoy takes over as fire chief for Scott Haberle, who retired at the end of last year. He played a key role in starting the new program in which the city embarked on selling advertising space on the side of lifeguard towers.

“It’s going to be a way for us to offset the cost of replacing the towers,” McCoy said. “The revenue that we get from the lifeguard tower ads is going to help to pay for the annual preventative maintenance that we do, as well as a replacement schedule for those lifeguard towers. It’s something that we’re really excited about.”

McCoy said goals include developing future leaders in the organization, building upon the fire department’s legacy of quality service and innovating the current response model to best meet the evolving needs of our community.

Huntington Beach is currently assisting firefighting in Los Angeles County, as the city has an engine at both the Palisades and Eaton fires, McCoy said. The two fires combined had destroyed more than 9,000 structures as of Thursday afternoon, officials said.

McCoy has a bachelor’s degree from Cal State Long Beach and a master’s in organizational leadership from Columbia Southern University. He is currently enrolled in the Executive Fire Officer program at the National Fire Academy, and anticipates graduating in April.

He lives in Huntington Beach with his wife and three children.