Manuel P. Neves, a retired assistant chief, has been named the new Honolulu fire chief.

He succeeds Kenneth Silva, who retired in December after 35 years of service including seven as fire chief.

The announcement was made this afternoon at Honolulu Hale.

As the new chief, Neves will be in charge of more than 1,100 firefighters and 44 fire stations on Oahu and an operating budget that in fiscal 2012  was $96 million.

He became an assistant chief in the Honolulu Fire Department in 2006 and retired from the department in 2011 to assume the position  as the fire chief for the Barking Sands Fire Department at the Pacific Missile Range in west Kauai.

Neves, 58, a 1972 graduate of Damien High School, earned an associate degree in fire science, bachelor’s degree in business administration and master’s degree  in public administration from the University of Hawaii.