Overview

John DeMonaco is a director with the Chino Valley Fire District Board of Directors.

Four-Year Term Expiration

2024

Biography

Director John DeMonaco resides in the City of Chino Hills with his wife, JoAnn. John and JoAnn were married in December 1966, and have two grown children, John III and Jami. John and JoAnn also have three grandchildren: Jacob, Matthew, and Timmy. John and JoAnn are also the proud owners of Luke and Mindy, two German Shepherds, who were adopted from an animal rescue.

John was born in New Castle, PA. His family moved to Azusa, CA where he graduated from Azusa High School. After graduating from high school, John enlisted in the U.S. Navy and became a specialist in Aviation Ordinance. He achieved the rank of Petty Officer, Second Class during his time in the Navy. He served on board the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Ranger as a member of the Flight Deck Crew, Guided Missile Division and made two combat tours to Vietnam before being honorably discharged in November 1969.

John is a graduate of the National Fire Academy and holds the certification of Executive Fire Officer. He also has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Management from the University of Redlands and an Associate of Science degree in Fire Science from Cero Coso Community College in Ridgecrest. John holds numerous California State Certifications, including Certified Chief Officer, Certified Fire Officer, and Certified Fire Investigator I & II.

John entered the Fire Service on June 10, 1974, and retired from the Fire Service on December 7, 2006, with over 33 years of experience. He retired from the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) as a Fire Battalion Chief. During his time with OCFA, he was assigned to OCFA Battalion 2, which serves the cities of Placentia and Yorba Linda, as well as unincorporated areas of Orange County. He also has held the position of Fire Chief for the cities of Westminster and San Marino. When John was a member of the City of Hawthorne Fire Department, he held the positions of Fire Fighter, Fire Fighter/Paramedic, Fire Engineer, Fire Captain, Fire Training Officer, and Arson Investigator. He was also a member of the cities of Placentia and California City fire departments, where he held the position of Fire Fighter.

During John’s career, he has developed and been involved in numerous major programs, including starting and implementing a 911 ambulance transportation program, starting and implementing an Emergency Preparedness Program and an Emergency Operations Center, and starting and implementing Operation HEART (Hawthorne Emergency Ambulance Response Team). Operationally, he has responded to and commanded major disasters in his communities. The most notable incident/disaster where John was the Incident Commander occurred on April 23, 2002. The incident was a head-on collision between a freight train and a Metrolink commuter train in the City of Placentia. This disaster involved about 300 Metrolink passengers, of which 275 were triaged and 162 transported to 13 local hospitals. Emergency response personnel under his command totaled approximately 120 Fire Fighters and 45 ambulances. John was then assigned to assist the National Transportation Safety Board for the next 18 months as part of the survivability group investigating the disaster. This disaster was so significant that the Discovery channel completed a reenactment of the incident and aired it on Discovery. The piece was titled “Fateful Journey” and John was privileged to be part of the program.

John’s life has been devoted to public service and he continues to serve the public as a Director for the Chino Valley Independent Fire District since 2006. In his personal life, John enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, fishing, sports, cars, cooking, and home projects.