At the end of November 1966 I took a cab from Oakland where I had just been discharged from the Army. I paid the cab driver, stood in front of the family home on 8Th street in Alameda. I dropped my duffel bag on the sidewalk and looked up and asked, "Now what". I had actually made it home! Of course no one was home. I hadn't called ahead to let anyone know what the time frame would be. I remember I slept on the floor in front of the heater for the first few weeks. I was really used to a hot humid climate.
After a few weeks at home my dad said they might be hiring at the Navel Air Station. I applied and got a job as a mechanic, and by chance it was working on Navy fire equipment. I re-built fire engines and crash trucks for about a year, and again by chance transferred into the fire department on the base. I told the fire chief that I knew more about the fire equipment than anyone else, and I could learn firefighting as I went.
So I fought fires and worked on the airfield as a crash fire firefighter for another year. They had hired several of us at the same time. One of the guys had been the fire chief in Marin County and was let go by the board of directors. He had a ton of experience and fun to work with. We were watching jets landing from one of the aircraft carriers that was still out at sea, they do this before they come in and dock. Anyway Herb, the ex fire chief was reading a trade magazine from the fire service. They were advertising for a fire chief up in the Sierra foothills. Long story short, they hired Herb and he needed someone that could build and maintain fire equipment. I was very fed up with the bay area (another story) and jumped at the chance to re-locate. I moved up on 28 March 1969. My official start date would be 1 April 1969. I hadn't thought about starting a career on April Fools day, but I did. That's why I picked Halloween day 31 October 2005 to retire. It only made sense!
Herb also called another guy to join us, but the district could only afford one full time fireman and one part time. So Don, the new guy came up and got a job managing the Phillips Gas Station full time and the fire station part time. I worked part time at the Phillips station. Don would shut off the power and lock the doors, drive to the fire house and as soon as he arrived I left and re-opened the gas station. We had a few young guys pumping gas and cleaning the grounds. We did this for several years. I have always had more than one job at a time. It kept me out of trouble.
This is how I ended up at Cameron Park Fire Department.
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