During 27 years in fire service Eric Saylors, the El Cerrito-Kensington Fire Department’s new chief, said he has encountered daily lessons in fear, ferocity and fortitude.
From that lived, hands-on experience and steeped as a third-generation firefighter in the industry’s culture, history and traditions, Saylors said he learned to trust people, planning and personal ethics more than perfect equipment or predictable climates. Leaving his post as an assistant fire chief with the Sacramento Fire Department, Saylor became the El Cerrito-Kensington department’s new chief in August.
His firefighting career began in 1995 at the Galt Fire Department in Sacramento County. He moved to the Sacramento Fire Department in 1998, where he rose through the ranks from firefighter/paramedic to engineer, captain and battalion chief before becoming assistant chief in 2021.