Ruben Torres brings 33 years of experience to the job, which takes him from an equivalent position at the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department.

A 23-year veteran of the San Jose Fire Department has been promoted to temporarily lead the agency until the city manager appoints a permanent chief.

After 29 years with the San Jose Fire Department, interim Chief Ruben Torres will retire from his post at the end of the month. But he's taking a similar job just 30 miles away.

San Jose Inside editor Josh Koehn sat down with Mayor-elect Sam Liccardo last week to discuss the recent election, what accomplishments he'll cite when running for re-election in four years and how he plans to mend relationships with political adversaries.

San Jose will consider opening up labor talks to give the public more oversight of public employee contracts, which take up half of the general fund budget. Other issues before the City Council on Tuesday include health and wellness coaching for firefighters and a fancy new fence.

A funny thing happened after Willie McDonald announced in a June 10 email to San Jose Fire Department staff that he was staying on as fire chief. He decided to send another email, only in this message, dated June 13, McDonald thanked everyone for their hard work and abruptly informed them he was leaving for Las Vegas, where he would oversee Clark County’s fire and ambulance services. So, why would a fire chief leave for a job expected to pay him less and demand more? And what would make him change his mind?