Newly promoted Los Alamos County Fire Marshal Colorado Cordova, right, receives his new helmet and badge at a special gathering with Chief Troy Hughes, center left, and Deputy Chief Wendy Servey, far left, Tuesday morning at the Fire Administration Building at 999 Central Ave. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

By CAROL A. CLARK
Los Alamos Daily Post
caclark@ladailypost.com

• “I’ve been doing this for 40 years and there is no one more ready…” –Chief Troy Hughes

When newly promoted Division Chief/Fire Marshal Colorado Cordova came to town 19 years ago he was searching for a satisfying career.

“I was looking for a job that was fulfilling and going to work at LAFD has been the best decision I’ve ever made in my career. It has been so satisfying and I would recommend it to anyone,” Cordova said during an interview just after becoming the Fire Marshal for Los Alamos County Tuesday morning, at a special gathering at the LAFD Administration Building on Central Avenue.

Two things top the list of reasons Cordova enjoys his career so much at LAFD.

“The camaraderie and banter in the station is always a joy and the other thing is when we arrive at a scene people are so happy – they want us there,” he said. “What we do at this level makes the work safer for our firefighters out on the scene and also helps keep the residents safe.”

Fire Chief Troy Hughes commended Cordova at Tuesday’s event.

“I’ve been doing this for 40 years and there is no one more ready … his education, all the classes he’s taken, his broad experience and serving in the second in command role in the fire marshal’s office the last few years … he is going to be a perfect fit for Los Alamos Fire Marshal – he’s the right guy,” Chief Hughes said.

Deputy Fire Chief Wendy Servey agreed saying, “Fire Marshal Cordova at one point in his fire career here set his sights on being the County Fire Marshal and it is nice to be a witness to his success – he is one of, if not the most qualified Fire Marshal in LAFD’s history … he will continue to move that office forward.”

Cordova explained that as Fire Marshal his main duty will be to administer the Fire Code throughout Los Alamos County. The office also provides programmatic oversight for incident reporting, new and existing building inspections, fire investigations, plan reviews, fire suppression/detection system inspection and public awareness.

Fire Marshal Cordova was raised in Northern New Mexico. After completing high school, he attended Adams State College in Colorado where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology. Following his graduation, he worked as a Law Enforcement Park Ranger with the U.S. National Park Service and received his training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia.

In 2006, he joined the Los Alamos Fire Department, where he advanced through the ranks from Firefighter I and II, Paramedic, Driver Engineer, Captain and now Division Chief/Fire Marshal.

Cordova is a Certified Fire Marshal through the International Code Council and holds a Fire Inspector III certification from the International Fire Services Accreditation Congress (IFSAC). The Los Alamos Fire Department adopted the International Fire Code and all reference standards in 2021. Cordova also served as a member of the Technical Rescue, Hazmat, Fire Investigations and Public Education Specialty Teams.

LAFD Employment History

• January 2006 – Hired
• February 2010 – Paramedic
• September 2013 – Driver Engineer
• August 2021 – Special Assignment Fire Marshal’s Office
• September 2022 – Captain
• March 2025 – Division Chief/Fire Marshal

About the Los Alamos Fire Department

The Los Alamos Fire Department (LAFD) is one of the largest career fire departments in the State of New Mexico and operates in the smallest county in New Mexico at 109 square miles. The department provides fire suppression, emergency medical services, technical rescue, hazardous materials mitigation, aviation rescue, fire prevention, fire investigation, code enforcement, public education and domestic preparedness planning and response. LAFD provides these services with a career staff of 150 personnel (140 uniformed/10 civilian) and operates out of 5 stations.

LAFD Mission, Vision, Core Values

Mission – The LAFD is honored to be entrusted with the safety and welfare of our members and our community. LAFD is dedicated and proud to provide exceptional services for the preservation of life, the environment and property.

Vision – The Los Alamos Fire Department’s vision is to serve the unique needs of our community. We strive to exceed expectations with Professionalism, Accountability, and Respect.

Core Values – Professionalism, Accountability and Respect.

• Professionalism: We carry our missions with honesty, integrity, and ethical behavior.
• Accountability: We maintain accountability by taking responsibility for our actions and as part of a team.
• Respect: We treat all individuals with dignity and courtesy regardless of their background, rank, or role.

The mission and values are the foundation of this agency. Thus, every effort will be made to keep these current and meaningful to guide the individuals who make up the Los Alamos Fire Department to accomplish their goals, objectives, and day-to-day tasks.

LAFD History

LAFD was originally organized under the Manhattan Project in April 1943 and initially served the community with 7 civilian firefighters and 25 volunteer firefighters. Military services took over operations in September of that year and provided fire protection until 1989 when governance was transferred from the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and the United States Atomic Energy Commission to the Incorporated County of Los Alamos (LAC).

International Accreditation

Los Alamos County Fire Department has achieved International Accreditation for the fifth time in a row.

Accreditation is a comprehensive self-assessment and evaluation model that enables organizations to examine past, current, and future service levels and internal performance and compare them to industry best practices.

This process leads to improved service delivery. The Accreditation Program, administered by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) allows fire and emergency service agencies to compare their performance to industry best practices in order to:

• Determine community risk and safety needs and develop community-specific Standards of Cover.
• Evaluate the performance of the department.
• Establish a method for achieving continuous organizational improvement.
• The CFAI accreditation process provides a well-defined, internationally-recognized benchmark system to measure the quality of fire and emergency services.