Administration

Kenneth R. Kehmna, Fire Chief - Chief Kehmna has been in the fire service since 1987, working for the City of Campbell until joining the Santa Clara County Fire Department in 1993. Prior to being appointed Fire Chief, he served in the roles of Deputy Chief of Training, Deputy Chief of Operations, Battalion Chief, Fire Captain, and Firefighter/Engineer-Paramedic. As Fire Chief, he is the Santa Clara County Fire Marshal and serves as Santa Clara County Area Fire and Rescue Coordinator, responsible for all fire mutual aid in Santa Clara County. Chief Kehmna is certified as a Fire Officer by the State Board of Fire Services. He holds an AS in Fire Science, a BA in Management, and a MS in Executive Fire Service Leadership.

Steven E. Staump, Assistant Fire Chief - Assistant Chief Staump has been in the professional fire service since 1971, working for the City of Orange until 1986, then with the City of Campbell until joining the Santa Clara County Fire Department in 1993. As Assistant Fire Chief, he directs the administration of the Department's Fire Prevention, Support Services, Training, and Operations Divisions, and functions as the Department Personnel Officer. Prior to accepting his current assignment, he served in the roles of Deputy Chief of Operations, Battalion Chief, and Emergency Medical Services Coordinator for the Paramedic (EMT-P) program implementation. Certified as a Fire Officer and Chief Officer by the State Board of Fire Services, Chief Staump holds an AA in Liberal Arts, AS in Fire Technology, and a BA in Management.

Dirk J. Mattern, Deputy Chief Fire Prevention Division - Deputy Chief Mattern has been employed with County Fire since 1979. He has served his entire career with the Department in the Fire Prevention Division, in the capacities of Associate Fire Protection Engineer, Assistant County Fire Marshal, and Deputy Chief. As Deputy Chief of the Fire Prevention Division, his program responsibilities include annual fire inspections of all occupancies, plan reviews and inspections of building construction projects, hazardous materials regulatory compliance, and the Santa Clara County Fire Marshal's Office. Chief Mattern holds an AS in Fire Science and a BS in Fire Prevention Technology. He is a member of many fire service organizations; including, the NFPA, International Code Council, Nor Cal Fire Prevention Officers Association, Santa Clara County Fire Marshals' Association, and the Santa Clara County Fire Safe Council.

John Justice, Deputy Chief Support Services Division - Deputy Chief Justice entered the fire service in 1987. In 1996 he joined the Santa Clara County Fire Department as a Hazardous Materials Specialist in the Fire Prevention Bureau. He promoted to Senior Deputy Fire Marshal and subsequently Senior Hazardous Materials Specialist, where he managed the Department’s hazardous material regulatory programs. With the creation of the Department’s incident safety officer (ISO) program in 2001, he served as one of the original ISOs until a reassignment in 2009. He also served over 8 years as an executive board member with IAFF Local 1165. In March of 2009, Chief Justice was selected to serve as the fire representative to the Bay Area Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) management team, a collaboration of bay area agencies supported by FEMA’s Department of Homeland Security that develops integrated systems to prevent, protect, respond and recover from acts of terrorism. He was the program manager for the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives (CBRNE) initiative and the Training & Exercise program. As the UASI project manager for California’s Golden Guardian 2010, he teamed with Cal EMA and the US Coast Guard in the production of the largest port-based exercise in the nation. He also assisted with the planning efforts of the region’s annual Urban Shield exercise, considered the largest homeland security training of its kind in the country. In 2010, Chief Justice participated in an international exercise and discussion of shared strategies for the response and recovery to terrorism and natural disasters. This summit included representatives from the United Nations, NATO and 25 nations. In addition to his UASI assignment, Chief Justice also represented the fire service on Santa Clara County’s Multi-Hazard, Multi-Agency Task Force, working with law enforcement and emergency medical service personnel in a process of planning, organizing, equipping, training and evaluating emergency responders. In December 2011 Chief Justice was assigned as Deputy Chief of Support Services. He is responsible for facilities, communication systems, supply services and maintaining the Department’s fleet of emergency apparatus and fleet of vehicles.

Don Jarvis, Deputy Chief Operations Division - Deputy Chief Jarvis has been in the professional fire service since 1982. His current responsibilities include fire suppression, emergency medical response and rescue activities. He is also working to pursue the Department's interests in developing regional solutions to fire protection in the southern areas of Santa Clara County. Chief Jarvis has served as Deputy Chief of Support Services and as Accreditation Manager for the Fire Department Self-Assessment and Accreditation project. Chief Jarvis is a certified Fire Officer and Chief Officer by the State Board of Fire Services. He holds an AS in Fire Science, a BS in Fire Administration, a BS in Fire Prevention Technology, and a MA in Occupational Studies.

Steve Prziborowski, Deputy Chief Training Division - Chief Prziborowski has proudly served at the Santa Clara County Fire Department since 1995, and has been in the fire service since 1992. As Deputy Chief of Training, Chief Prziborowski's responsibilities include serving as the Department's Health & Safety Officer; managing the EMS Coordinator, the Emergency Services Coordinators, the Community Education Staff, the Volunteer Division, and overall training, education and career development for department personnel; and assisting with the recruitment and promotional testing processes. He is also an adjunct faculty member in the Fire Technology Program at Chabot College (Hayward, CA), a regular speaker at fire service events and conferences around the country, and has authored numerous articles in the leading fire service publications. In 2008 he was selected as the California Fire Service Instructor of the year, and is a former President of the Nor Cal Training Officers Association. Chief Prziborowski is a state certified Master Instructor and Chief Officer, is designated as a Chief Fire Officer by the Commission on Professional Credentialing, and has completed the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy. He has an MS in Emergency Services Administration, a BS in Criminal Justice, and an AA in Fire Technology.

Fred Schulenburg, Director of Business Services - Mr. Schulenburg has served as the Department's Director of Business Services since 2008. Prior to joining the Department, Mr. Schulenburg worked for over 20 years in various positions in the City of Santa Clara Finance Department. He holds a BS in Accounting and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of California. As Director of Business Services, Mr. Schulenburg directs the Department's programs of Risk Management, Management Information, Employee Benefits, Finance, and Accounting. Mr. Schulenburg is Chair of the Department's Information Technology and Health Plan committees, and also serves as a principal Department representative in labor and other contract negotiations.

Wilma Cadorna, Personnel Services Manager - Ms. Cadorna has served as the Department's Personnel Services Manager since 2002. Ms. Cadorna manages the Department's human resources which includes labor relations, workers' compensation, recruitment and promotion, training, disciplinary actions, grievances and policy development as it pertains to personnel administration. She functions as the Department's chief negotiator in the collective bargaining process. Ms. Cadorna has extensive work experience in the fields of human resources and labor relations, and has completed university-level course work.

Julie M. Thomas, Administrative Support Officer - Ms. Thomas has been with the Santa Clara County Fire Department since 1984, serving in the position of Administrative Support Officer III since 1995. She oversees the activities of the Department's office and fiscal support staff; assists in the recruitment, selection and training of administrative support staff; assists with the development of administrative and administrative support office procedures; and provides executive administrative support to members of the management staff. Ms. Thomas holds an AA in Liberal Arts, a BS in Occupational Studies, and is completing coursework for Human Resource Management certification.