l.a. county fire dept's first asian american deputy chief

Last week, the Los Angeles County Fire Department officially promoted Helen Jo to deputy chief, making her the first woman and Asian American to achieve a rank in the history of the department: L.A. County Fire Department honors its first Asian American deputy chief. She received her shiny new badge at a promotional ceremony on Thursday.

Jo, who is Korean American, assumed her new position in April. She joined the Fire Department in 1998 as a budget officer and became chief of the financial management division in 2002. During her tenure in that division, the department's budget grew from $500 million to more than $910 million. She is one of the department's seven deputy chiefs. Cool.