Fire Chiefs Leader Targets Safety in Portable Classrooms

Increasing safety standards in portable classrooms will be a top priority of Timothy D. Riley, Newport Beach’s chief of fire and marine services, as he becomes president of the California Fire Chiefs Assn.

Portable classrooms have been

Timothy D. Riley

in demand as schools reduce class sizes under a statewide initiative. But many of the portables have been crowded together and some lack water connections, he said.

For homes, Riley said he will ask that manufacturers of window safety bars add an indoor release mechanism that would allow residents to escape in the event of a fire.

Riley, 43, said he followed his father’s footsteps when he became an Anaheim firefighter in 1975. “He brought home the application one day and I filled it out,” he said.

Riley served as Anaheim’s fire marshal before being hired in 1991 to head Newport Beach’s Fire and Marine Department.

In his one-year tenure as president of the statewide association, he said he also hopes to promote modern fire departments as full-service safety providers.

“We’re not just a bunch of guys sitting around the firehouse with our spotted dog waiting for the fire bell to ring anymore,” he said.