2 department chief appointments official They have...

2 department chief appointments official

They have been leading the troops since December, but the city

made it official this week.

The city appointed veteran employees Kyle Lindo and Duane Olson as

chiefs of their departments.

Lindo, who has worked for the city since 1986, was named Marine

Safety Division chief. Olson, who began his tenure with Surf City in

1970, was named fire chief.

Lindo and Olson began their careers as Huntington Beach

lifeguards, Lindo as a seasonal guard and Olsen as a full-time.

A Vanguard University graduate, with a bachelor’s in management

and information, Lindo was promoted to permanent Marine Safety

officer in 1992, followed by a promotion to lieutenant .

As an adept diver and life saver, his staff of more than 180

full-time and part-time lifeguards can look to him for leadership and

for guidance.

Aside from keeping a watchful eye on beachgoers, Lindo will

oversee underwater search and rescues, helicopter rescues, flood and

swift water rescues, and numerous aquatic searches.

City lifeguards save an average of 2,000 lives per year, Lindo

said, crediting the close working relationship lifeguards have with

the police and fire departments.

“Past and future collaborative efforts have been the cornerstone

to our agency’s success,” Lindo said. “I am just happy to work with a

team of very professional lifeguards.”

In 1970, 16 years before Lindo became a lifeguard, Olson was

setting the foundations for the illustrious Marine Safety Division.

Olson switched gears in 1974, joining the Fire Department. He

ascended the ranks -- firefighter paramedic, fire protection

specialist, fire captain, deputy fire marshal, battalion chief and

division chief -- before being appointed interim fire chief in 2002.

While working his way up, Olson was earning a master’s in public

administration and a bachelor’s from UC Irvine.

-- Evan Marmol

Surf City man wounded in shooting

A Huntington Beach man was shot during a hold up Friday at a

restaurant in Pomona.

Christopher Thoreson, 27, was one of five men who were robbed at

El Taco Nazo, a Mexican Restaurant in downtown Pomona at 10:45 p.m.

Friday.

A man entered the restaurant and robbed the men of about $80 at

gunpoint.

The victims chased the man out to the parking lot, where he opened

fire, striking Thoreson in the lower body. The wound was not fatal,

and no one else was injured.

Police are still searching for the gunman.

-- Jenny Marder

Students treated for chemical exposure

A group of students at Marina High School were transported to

Huntington Beach Hospital after a maintenance worker treated the

swimming pool improperly, releasing fumes into the air.

The incident occurred at about 11 a.m. Friday after the

maintenance worker put chlorine pills into the pool and left open

vents that connect the pool area to the boys’ locker room.

Several students were treated for burning eyes, burning throats

and headaches, but no one was seriously injured. Paramedics treated

many at the school.

-- Jenny Marder