LAFD Apppoints First Public Information Director

Former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Peter Sanders was appointed Friday as the Los Angeles Fire Department's first public information director.

Sanders, a deputy mayor for communications in the Villaraigosa administration, joins the Los Angeles Fire Department's Community Liaison Office, where he will work with Battalion Chief Stephen Ruda, the community liaison officer, and Capt. Jaime Moore, the public information officer and commander of the department's Community Services Unit, Los Angeles Fire Department Chief James Featherstone said today.

Prior to joining the mayor's office, Sanders was a staff reporter in the Los Angeles bureau of the Wall Street Journal. Before that, he spent six years working as a paramedic in California and Texas, said the LAFD's Katherine Main.

Sanders, who currently works as public affairs officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, attached to a unit in Coronado, has a master's degree in print journalism from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and a bachelor's degree in political science from Bates College, Main said.

"I am very pleased to be able to bring Peter onto the LAFD team in his new role," Featherstone said. "His background in public affairs, journalism, and as a paramedic perfectly positions him to help tackle both the daily and strategic communications needs of the department."

Sanders starts in his new role next week, Main said.

—City News Service