Berkeley Fire Chief David Brannigan is stepping down as chief to take over the helm of the Piedmont Fire Department. Photo: Daphne White
David Brannigan, who has served as Berkeley’s fire chief for the last three years, is stepping down to take over as fire chief for the city of Piedmont. Abraham Roman, currently Berkeley’s deputy fire chief, will assume the position of interim head of the department.
Brannigan said his new role will allow him to spend more time with his family as the demands of the job will be less. Piedmont’s single fire station is about a mile from Brannigan’s Oakland home and serves a much smaller area than Berkeley one square mile large compared to Berkeley’s 11 square miles. Moreover, Piedmont’s population is one-tenth the size of Berkeley’s, he said.
The Berkeley Fire Department found an unidentified man dead in a planter box Sunday afternoon on the 2100 block of Shattuck Avenue.
The Berkeley Police Department received a report from a downtown ambassador of an unresponsive “man in his 60s” laying in a planter box, according to BPD spokesperson Byron White. White added that BFD determined that the man was deceased after responding to the report.
White said the Alameda County Coroner’s Office recovered the body but has yet to determine the cause of death, and their identity has not been released.
Check back for updates.
Aditya Katewa is a deputy news editor. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @adkatewa1.
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