Atascadero Fire Department ready to move forward with new chief Dave Van Son

By Mike Chaldu · Thu Aug 13 2026

After three decades in Montana, and nearly six years with AFD, battalion chief will move up to lead city's firefighters

ATASCADERO — Looking back at his firefighting career, and his return to California, new Atascadero Fire Chief Dave Van Son admits his tenure with AFD began after a detour in his job search.

"I had been working in Montana for 30 years, and my wife and I wanted to move closer to family, and closer to my hometown of Goleta," Van Son said. "Then, back in 2020, I saw Templeton was looking for a new fire chief, so I tested for it, and came in to interview."

While Van Son felt the interview went well, Templeton went another way, hiring then AFD Battalion Chief Tom Peterson for the position, which Peterson still holds.

Of course, Peterson's move left a vacancy in AFD's ranks.

"So I interviewed for battalion chief, the job [Peterson] just left, and got it," Van Son said. "In the outlook of things, I’m really happy. It was a good career choice, and I think it worked out for both of us."

For the past six years, Van Son has served as battalion chief of community risk reduction. In that role, he has overseen fire prevention, plan review, public education, vegetation management, weed abatement enforcement, and fire and life safety inspections. He has worked closely with residents, developers, businesses, Firewise communities, and regional partners to enhance wildfire preparedness, community resilience, and public safety.

Van Son takes pride in many accomplishments during his time at the position.

"During my time here, we reorganized our fire inspection program to match up with state-mandated inspections, so we’re 100% compliant," he said. "We also have secured a $1.2 million grant for reducing fire danger, cleaned up Atascadero Creek with vegetation management to increase the flow of water and reduce the risk of fire."

But one thing Van Son focuses on is his effort to get the community involved in reducing fire risk.

"There have been three FireWise communities started here in nine months — Oak Ridge, Long Valley, and El Monte," he said. FireWise is a program where communities band together to mitigate fire risk in potentially dangerous areas.

The FireWise communities are just one factor in a message that Van Son likes to convey to people: the community has a role in the prevention of damaging fires.

"It’s key in wildfire safety, a collaborative effort with the community," he said. "You can only get so many grants to help, so the focus is on citizens, and how they can maintain their own property. And I've always explained to people, 'your defensible space only as good as neighbor's,' and doing nothing puts your home at risk. Maintaining your defensive space makes you self-accountable and makes it safer for firefighters."

Van Son was inspired to become a firefighter early on, while growing up in Goleta, a suburb of Santa Barbara.

"It goes back to when I was a kid," he said. "Nobody in my family was in that line of work or anything, but like a lot of kids in the '70s, I grew up watching the TV show 'Emergency' every Saturday night. I wanted to become a firefighter ever since."

As a student at Dos Pueblos High in the '80s, Van Son was able to join a newly installed fire cadet program through Boy Scouts, through which he learned some skills and went on ride-alongs.

He started his career as a member of the Santa Barbara Hot Shots, fighting wildfires, but after being laid off from that position, he joined the Air Force, which sent him to Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, after three years, he left and joined the fire department in Great Falls, where he spent 26 years before coming to Atascadero.

After Bryson announced his retirement earlier this year, Van Son was interviewing for the department's top position. City Manager Jim Lewis announced Van Son's appointment as the new fire chief on July 8, and the City Council unanimously approved that appointment six days later.

"Chief Van Son has demonstrated exceptional leadership, professionalism, and dedication throughout his career," Lewis said upon making the announcement. "His commitment to public safety, his collaborative leadership style, his demonstrated integrity, calm and humble demeanor, and the relationships he has built within our community make him the right person to lead the department into its next chapter. We are fortunate to have such a qualified leader already serving the City of Atascadero."

Van Son will take over at a pivotal time for the AFD. The department will be in a state of transition for a couple of years as a brand new Fire Station #1 on Traffic Way and Lewis Avenue is under construction, and the firefighters will be working in temporary quarters in the interim. On top of that, the department will be working under a new command structure, with a third battalion chief being added, and the position of fire marshal being restored.

"Going through the process is the key, and it's a big learning curve," he said. "The first couple of years, we'll focus on maintaining stuff with station rebuilds, working with our new engine, and keeping up with personnel. After that, we'll determine how we move forward.

However that goes, Van Son knows he'll have big shoes to fill with Bryson's departure.

"Chief Bryson has done an excellent job, he helped get the new station built," Van Son said. "He's always out with the community, makes sure staff has their needs, and I appreciate how he communicates with everybody and has a connection with all the county chiefs. He's a great person to be able to follow."

Van Son will officially take over as fire chief on Sept. 19.

Feature Image: Soon-to-be Atascadero Fire Chief Dave Van Son shakes hands with Atascadero Mayor Charles Bourbeau while posing with members of his family and the City Council after council confirmed his appointment as fire chief on July 14. Photo courtesy of City of Atascadero