Fire Chief, Transportation Head To Lead Palo Alto

PALO ALTO, CA — It wasn't necessarily Palo Alto Interim Fire Chief Geo Blackshire's adolescent dream to be a firefighter like most young lads, but since he didn't end up in "Hollywood," it was destined to happen.

Blackshire, who has been selected this week by Palo Alto City Manager Ed Shikada as the first black fire chief, told Patch he and a buddy in Southern California made a deal in high school when they noticed a fire engine zoom by.

"You know, it didn't occur to me until high school. We said, 'ok, if you don't play football, and I don't go to Hollywood, we'll be firefighters,'" Blackshire told Patch.

And now, the homegrown Palo Alto firefighter of 22 years stands on top of that hierarchy about to assume the highest role of responsibility in a high-profile city with a high-risk of disaster.

"The potential in Northern California, Silicon Valley and city of Palo Alto of a hazard is there, whether it's flooding in the winter, fire in the summer and earthquakes any given time," he said, insisting he's ready to take on the top job.

"As you rise through the ranks, it always comes with more responsibility," he said.

Blackshire is proud of his accomplishments and plans to live up to the role with preparation, preparation, preparation for his Peninsula department.

Of course, you're never completely prepared for the most unexpected society dishes out. He flashed on what his buddy went through as a Clark County (Nevada) fire chief responding to the mass casualty event involving country western concert attendees trying to escape a gunman armed with an assault rifle target shooting from a Mandalay Bay Casino window.

"We're just asked to respond with our first interest of safety," he said with a sigh.

Blackshire has led the city’s fire department as interim chief since January, spanning a 22-year career in fire service starting in Palo Alto in 1997. Through the years, he worked his way up through the ranks from firefighter to fire engineer, fire captain, battalion chief and deputy chief of Operations and Support Services. As fire chief, Blackshire will continue leading the department of 104 personnel and a $32 million budget.

“The Palo Alto Fire Department is a world-class fire department verified by national accreditation and confirmed by the community’s acknowledgement of the excellent customer service provided by the firefighters,” Blackshire said. “My goal is to continue this tradition by being a collaborative partner with City leadership and the community.”

The incoming chief has led numerous initiatives to ensure excellent fire protection and emergency response, while addressing fiscal and other resource management priorities. His accomplishments include developing multiple emergency response deployment models, implementing new succession processes, managing the 2019-2023 Palo Alto Fire Department Strategic Plan, serving as the department lead for the Hazmat Division of Super Bowl 50 and overseeing the department as the lead for the Embarcadero Fire Station reconstruction. He has demonstrated a particular commitment to workforce safety and wellness, diversity and inclusion, service and responsibility.

He is due to be confirmed by the City Council on Aug. 5 and is expected to be joined two weeks later by incoming Chief Transportation Official and former Transportation Planning Manager Philip Kamhi.

“We are extremely proud to announce the selection of two extraordinary public stewards in Blackshire and Kamhi,” Shikada said. “Each of these individuals has devoted (his) career to public service, and Palo Alto will be well served by their professional leadership.”

Taking the high road

Kamhi brings more than a decade of professional transportation experience covering the full range of issues involving local, regional and federal agencies as well as multimodal transportation. He is currently managing legacy fleet decommissioning for Bay Area Rapid Transit.

Prior to his BART role, Kamhi served Palo Alto as the second-in-command for the City’s transportation division, responsible for leading the City’s parking and Transportation Demand Management programs including coordination with the Palo Alto Transportation Management Association. Through his service to Palo Alto, Kamhi developed a strong reputation for positive community engagement and program development.

Kamhi has dedicated his career to transportation management and public transit services in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California. He has managed programs for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Riverside Transit Agency in Southern California. Locally, he has served in Solano County and the city of Fairfield.

“I'm honored to take on this leadership role and to return to Palo Alto with an excellent team of staff that is dedicated to improving transportation,” Kamhi said. “The Palo Alto community appreciates the impact transportation decisions have on the quality of their lives, and I look forward to working with them and the Palo Alto City Council to achieve solutions to bring positive change.”

Kamhi will provide management and leadership for a workgroup that was formally designated an office through the City Council’s budget adoption in June 2019. Transportation previously fell under the Department of Planning and Community Environment. The Office of Transportation has a team of 15 employees and an operating budget of $2.3 million and a $16.8 million capital budget dedicated to efficiently addressing the mobility needs of the Palo Alto community.

Among the major projects Kamhi will lead are the city’s planning for railroad grade separations, residential permit and other parking program changes, bicycle and pedestrian plan review and implementation, along with staff development.