By Amber L. Ferreira

Flashing lights, blaring sirens, pounding hearts, chaos, and ruins; a second chance, hope restored, and peace of mind. These images and more are used to describe the extra-help firefighters at the Tulare County Fire Department and what they deal with on a daily basis. For many extra-help firefighters, getting started was easy and natural. It was a way of carrying on a family tradition and making their forefathers proud. Others seek a sense of fulfillment from helping their fellow man. But for all, at the end of the day, it is a way of life and a way of giving back to the people that make up the community in which they live and thrive.

While other fire departments use reserve staff to augment their emergency response in large fires or events, the Tulare County extra-help firefighters are part of the first-line response to any incident regardless of size. They are the firefighters and engineers for the department; the full-time staff are the lieutenants and captains. Therefore, Tulare County’s is truly a combination department; the extra-help staff are integral to the department’s response capabilities. While firefighters and engineers “volunteer” their time, they are compensated as part-time county employees, and the department could not effectively carry out its mission without them.

“Inasmuch that we are a ‘combination’ fire department, we are very much dependent on our community-based fire company firefighter and engineer members,” stated Fire Chief Steve Sunderland. “With our current full-time staffing, absent our community-based fire company’s tremendous everyday support, we would be hard pressed to field an effective suppression and/or rescue effort at any incident.”

The Tulare County Fire Department provides rapid responses to an area that covers over 4,800 square miles, with twenty-eight stations providing life-saving services around the clock. This is a fairly new department, created on July 1, 2007, after the Tulare Board of Supervisors terminated its fire protection contract with Cal-Fire. With such a short amount of time to grow, this department has made leaps and bounds. This team of dedicated individuals is almost 400 people strong and growing.

Each and every extra-help firefighter makes the department what it is.The spirit of these firefighters is: situations change, fire seasons come and go, but the people remain the driving force that makes this department stand out. They all offer something unique, and without hesitation give their time, their sweat, their energy—some even give their lives—to help keep others safe.

Along with the desire to help, the Tulare County firefighters all enjoy the thrills that come with the job. “When I turned eighteen I needed something to do so I became a (paid call firefighter) and was hooked after my first fire. There is always something new to experience and the more motivated you are, the more you will get out of it. This job can be one of the most exciting jobs you can get,” says Lieutenant Matt Drum from TCFD Station 16, “Also it’s problem solving and who doesn’t like to see the end result when it’s all over. Plus it makes for some good stories later on in life.”

“My career highlight is definitely going up the ladder truck to fight a church fire in Cutler,” says Firefighter Kyrie Hubbard of TCFD Station 11. “I had never fought fire from the truck before! It was my first time. The church was fully involved when I was up on the stick. I could look right into the fire from my position. I had control of where the water was going based on the fire. It was a unique and powerful experience.”

On any given day at the Tulare County Fire stations, you can find extra-help firefighters on call, waiting for the chance to get out in the field and put in their best efforts. Other firefighters respond strictly from their homes or offices. And while the evident sense of family and camaraderie within the department may not be driving recruits to sign up initially, it is the glue that holds the team together.

Engineer James Israel from Station 15 has fond memories of competing against other counties and departments in the State Fire Muster Competitions. “The teams travel all over the state of California and compete in these games against about twenty other teams from within California. The events consist of Hose Cart, Bucket Brigade, Motorized Cart, and a few others. Then at the end of the year they have state championship games where someone is crowned the best in each category,” he explains, adding with pride, “We at TCFD hold the state championship for Motorized Hose Wagon for the men and third place for Vintage Hose Carts and Women’s Hose Carts for the women.”

It’s not all fun and games, however. The stress is real and the job itself is treacherous. Extra-help volunteers go up against not only fires, dealing with fully involved homes, car fires, and grass fires; they deal with heartbreaking medical aid situations, some of which continue to haunt them well into their careers. “At my very first structure fire a small child died inside the house,” says Hubbard, who is quick to note that there is always an upside to difficult responses, sharing “My kids are proud of me for being a firefighter. They think it is exciting to put out fire or participate in a medical aid.”

In addition to inspiring others, the firefighters and engineers at Tulare County Fire work to inspire each other through selfless deeds within the department. In small ways like helping pick up around the station or washing engines; or big efforts like organizing car pools and blood drives, they always make sure their teammates are taken care of when they need it. Everybody works hard to spread the values that make emergency response an admirable field: respect, honor, dignity, learning, and continued individual growth. It all contributes to becoming the best they can be at their job and as a department.

Tulare County Fire Department offers its firefighters a chance to gain new skills and hands-on experience through an internship program, offered in conjunction with College of the Sequoias each semester. Interns are assigned to stations throughout the county and learn from the staff captains and lieutenants. They respond to calls, go through training exercises, and have one-on-one time to ask questions of the experts, the career firefighters, and company officers. They undergo periodic evaluations to assess areas for improvement and to measure their successes. At the end of each semester, the students receive class credit toward their degrees, typically an A.S. in Fire Science or a Fire Technology degree.

Hard work and dedication drive the members of the Tulare County Fire Department to excel, but in the end, it is the human factor—the heart and soul that goes into each call—that makes these firefighters heroes. No deed is too small in the eyes of someone who benefits from their emergency response. Every act is one of courage and capability and the lives they touch are forever changed for the better.


*Dedicated to the men and women who took their last breath while serving others on the fire line, and to those that continue to live as though today could be their last, selflessly giving to others.