Leadership

Nathan Trauernicht, MPA, CFO, MIFireE

Fire Chief

Hometown: Lincoln, NE

Serving in the fire service since 1993, Nathan Trauernicht has a diverse background that includes positions ranging from Firefighter to Fire Chief with departments across the country. He has worked for volunteer, combination, and career departments of varying size and complexity.

Chief Trauernicht earned his undergraduate degree in Fire Protection and Safety Engineering from Oklahoma State University and he holds a master’s degree in public administration. Beyond completing the Executive Leadership and Management Institute (ELMI) at Stanford University, Nathan is a graduate of the UC Davis Executive Program, Member of the Institution of Fire Engineers (MIFireE), is designated as a Chief Fire Officer® (CFO) by the Center for Public Safety Excellence, and is currently in the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program (EFO).

Nathan has instructed on the topic of generational leadership challenges at many conferences, and has taught college courses in company officer and chief officer level incident command. For four years he served as a Command Staff member on CalFire Incident Management Team 5, a type I command team that responds to large scale emergencies throughout California.

Chief Trauernicht is active in a number of professional groups, boards and committees; he currently serves as President Elect of the California Fire Chiefs Association (CalChiefs) and as Past President of the CalChiefs - Operations Chiefs Section, is Chair of the Yolo County Emergency Medical Care Committee, is appointed to the Board of Directors of the National Fire Service Research Center and Policy Institute, and on technical committees for NFPA 1000 (Accreditation) and NFPA 1021 (Fire Officer Professional Qualifications).

Nathan joined UC Davis Fire in May of 2008 as the Assistant Fire Chief of the Operations and Training Divisions.  Appointed Fire Chief of the UC Davis Fire Department in February of 2012, he provides overall leadership and direction to the department, administration of the department’s budget, planning, operational, and business functions.

John Heilmann

Deputy Fire Chief - Training & Safety Division

Hometown: Kentfield, CA

Serving in the fire service since 1984 Deputy Fire Chief John Heilmann started his career as a volunteer firefighter with the Kentfield Fire Protection District while attending Marin Catholic High School in Kentfield.

Chief Heilmann attended Chabot College and San Jose State University where he participated in intercollegiate athletics and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology.  After graduating from college he joined the Marinwood Community Service District as a Cadet Firefighter.

In January of 1998 John was hired as a Firefighter by the West Sacramento Fire Department. He was promoted to the position of Engineer in 2001 and Captain in 2003 where he served for five years. In 2008, he was promoted to the rank of Fire Division Chief of the Training Division.

John joined UC Davis Fire in May of 2012 as Deputy Fire Chief of the Training and Safety Division.  He provides leadership, management, and coordination of the department's training, professional development, and safety programs.

Chief Heilmann is also responsible for these programmatic areas for the City of Davis Fire Department through an inter-local agreement between the two agencies meant to standardize operations and training to create a more effective and efficient response force throughout the greater Davis Community.