Chevron Fire Department Chief Gregory Bosworth has retired after nearly four decades in the fire service. But the departed chief says the significant industrial fire department that is tasked with keeping people safe at the refinery and also in the community has been left in more than one set of good hands.
Succeeding Chief Bosworth are two Chevron Richmond veterans.
Scott Joseph, who started as a refinery operator 27 years ago before working his way up the ranks of the Chevron Fire Department, will take over as fire chief for the 32-member department.
And Meaghan Horton, a 24-year Chevron employee and workforce safety expert who served on the fire brigade over a five-year period, has been tapped as the department’s first female emergency services manager, heading up security and oil spill response for the facility’s emergency services division.
During his tenure, Bosworth held both roles of fire chief and emergency services manager.
“It will be big shoes to fill. I don’t think it can be filled by one person.”
“It will be big shoes to fill. I don’t think it can be filled by one person,” Horton said, adding, “Chief Bosworth has just got so much history in this department.”
Chief Bosworth says he’s “leaving the house in very capable hands.”
“I have stood beside Scott and Meaghan and have seen them progress in their careers,” he said. “I can confidently say we have the most qualified, best trained folks in our department.”
It’s a department that plays a critical role both in the community and throughout the region and state.
‘Largest in nation’
The Chevron Fire Department was established in 1912, a decade after the refinery was commissioned.
“It was very early on that Chevron witnessed the growth of the community around it and realized that a fire department was needed,” Bosworth said. “It was not just about protecting refinery personnel and assets, but also about protecting the surrounding community.”
CFD is a 24/7 operation maintaining all aspects of emergency response, from fire security to spill response. It provides firefighting, safety, and prevention services within the refinery, as well as mutual aid in emergency response in the community, including chemical fires and spills at other industrial facilities. CFD also conducts air monitoring within the community during flaring events and investigates noise and odor complaints.
“The Chevron Fire Department is one of the largest industrial fire departments in the United States,” Bosworth said.
He notes the level of training and expertise at the CFD is so high that municipal departments come to its facility to train their firefighters.
“We take them to Texas A&M University for annual fire training, and bring them to our drill grounds for all their new-hire academies,” Bosworth said. “We are in the role of making sure that local firefighters are prepared for the complex and diverse commercial and industrial portfolio they’re tasked with protecting. Any of our firefighters can provide that level of training.”
Bosworth lauded previous CFD chiefs for developing lasting relationships in the community. While the CFD’s headquarters are within the refinery’s fence line, you will often see CFD engines and personnel at local community events like the Cinco de Mayo Festival. The department sits on the board of the Richmond Police Activities League, supporting the organization’s Toys for Tots program, and partners with the Richmond fire and police departments on an annual holiday toy and food drive that serves hundreds of local families.
Former CFD Chief Tony Semenza founded Contra Costa County Community Awareness Emergency Response (CAER), which developed the Community Warning System, and continues to lead it voluntarily two decades after retiring from the fire service.
Bosworth leaves behind a similar legacy of creating community connections, according to Horton and Joseph.
“One of his key contributions has been developing important relationships in the community and also statewide and federally,” Horton said.
Chief Bosworth
Bosworth began his fire service career in 1987 as a reserve firefighter for the Rodeo-Hercules Fire Department. While there, he was also hired full-time as a process operator at Chevron Richmond, where he worked for nine years before transferring to CFD. He started there as a firefighter, then worked “all possible jobs” within the department until he became chief.
His proudest career moments, however, were not necessarily as chief. Back when he was an emergency medical responder, he was provided the opportunity to deliver both of his children, which ranks highest as his proudest moment. He becomes emotional when recalling a “clinical save” where he helped save a patient’s life.
Bosworth demurred at an opportunity to discuss his proudest moment as chief, saying the chiefs that came before him “really set the bar high.”
“It started out very much as an industrial department, but the last few chiefs have really pushed that bar up to make it a regional asset, because we’re not just for the refinery, we’re for outside the fence as well, and we play an active role every day in the community and with the other agencies trying to ensure that this facility is running safely,” he said.
New leadership
Chief Joseph says he’s excited for Horton, not just that she is trailblazing as the department’s first female emergency services manager, but for having the support of an expert in her role. She previously served as senior workforce safety specialist at Chevron.
Joseph has earned his stripes as well. Like his predecessor, Joseph can say he’s worked in every position in the CFD during his career. He brings a wealth of knowledge, not just in firefighting but also in oil spill response and security.
“I love this organization, and, like Meaghan, I’ve been a part of it for many years,” Joseph said.
He said his goal is to honor the legacy of past chiefs that have grown and sustained the department as a reliable community protector and partner.
“Meaghan and I really do have big shoes to fill, and it’s going to take a collaboration between both of us to make sure we can keep this organization going in the right direction,” Chief Joseph said.
Like Chief Joseph, Horton emphasizes proactive community partnerships as the best way to move the CFD into the future.
“The Richmond Refinery, to me, is home, and along with Richmond residents, we’re family here,” Horton said. “We work here and the company affords us time to be part of the community, to give back to the community. And I hope to continue that, and to grow it.”