The CAL FIRE Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) recently announced that Governor Gavin Newsom has appointed Vickie Sakamoto as the new Deputy State Fire Marshal. Chief Sakamoto brings nearly 38 years of dedicated service in the areas of fire prevention and public safety. Prior to her appointment as deputy state fire marshal, Chief Sakamoto served as deputy director.

In her new role, Chief Sakamoto will oversee the following OSFM departments: Code Development and Analysis, Fire and Life Safety, Pipeline Safety and CUPA, and State Fire Training. Her role will focus not only on supporting the teams she oversees, but also on executing CAL FIRE's mission, vision and values. Chief Sakamoto will also work to lead the office in meeting State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant's four key expectations: communication, customer service, consistency and trust.

Her fire service career began in 1986 with the Florin Fire Protection District, where she worked as a fire protection technician. In 1989, she began her civil service with the OSFM as deputy state fire chief and eventually rose to various leadership positions, including deputy state fire chief III – specialist, deputy state fire chief III – supervisor and department head. She served as head of both the Fire Engineering Department and the Fire and Life Safety Department, demonstrating her long-standing commitment to protecting communities.

Chief Sakamoto chaired the OSFM Sub-Joint Apprenticeship Committee and numerous OSFM advisory committees, including those focused on automatic extinguishing systems, general fireworks, fire extinguishers, fire alarms, flame retardants and special effects. Additionally, she served as chair of the OSFM's High Rise Task Force and the Solar Photovoltaic Installation Guideline Workgroup, as well as co-chair of the Smoke Alarm Task Force, contributing significantly to state safety standards and practices. She is currently a member of the California Fire Prevention Officers and the International Code Council.