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Jason Flores moved his way up to chief after starting as a volunteer firefighter in 1994.
There was little sense of ceremony as Boyd Johnson took down a “Goodbye” banner from above his desk at North San Juan Fire Station No. 3 and prepared to hand over his chief’s helmet — and the reins — to new fire district Chief Jason Flores.
“I’m looking forward to seeing him struggle,” Johnson joked on Friday, adding he is sticking around to serve as Flores’ assistant fire chief.
“He grew up in this department,” Johnson said — and that’s no exaggeration.
Flores started as a volunteer firefighter with North San Juan after he graduated from high school in 1994 and has taken only a few years off since then.
Flores began volunteering at the urging of his grandfather, Carlos, who was a volunteer for seven years with the department. Six months later, he got a call from Calfire to work as a seasonal firefighter.
After three summer seasons, he transferred to the U.S. Forest Service to broaden his understanding of wildland firefighting — and he’s been working in the field ever since.
“I love it,” Flores said. “I love firefighting.”
Now, Flores said, he’s embarking on “the biggest challenge I’ve ever taken on.”
He already puts in 40 hours a week at his paid job — as engine captain for the Forest Service in Downieville — and estimated he puts in about 30 hours a week in North San Juan.
“My life is pretty full,” he grinned. “But it’s going to be fun. I’m looking forward to it.”
Flores is married and has three young children, so he makes sure he carves out family time as well.
Wife Angel also is a volunteer with the district — she is a captain at Fire Station No. 2 — so she is more understanding than many wives might be.
“Getting her involved was a way for us to stay together,” Flores said.
He survives the rigors of two jobs and parenting “one day at a time,” he said.
“Family time is usually 7 to 8:30, before the kids go to bed, and from 5:45 a.m. when they get up to 7:20, when they hop on the bus. Weekends, of course, there’s more family time. We have 15 acres and we do things at home — riding quads, dirt bikes and go-karts.”
Flores also got his father, Fernando, to join the department, and he volunteered for five or six years. At one point, all three generations were volunteers at the same time.
The North San Juan Fire District has three stations — the main station on Tyler-Foote Road and two smaller stations in French Corral and North San Juan. The main station has office staff members who work five days a week. There are about 25 volunteer firefighters on the roster who are responsible for coming to training and working duty shifts.
The district normally has two firefighters on shift during the week and three on the weekends.
All volunteers must have basic first aid and CPR certification, then they are on probation for a year. While on probation, they must complete more first aid training, plus courses in fighting wildland and structure fires.
“Usually, we aren’t going to throw new people to a major trauma call,” Flores said.
“They might be there as observers or start out doing paperwork at the scene. ... We always need manpower.”
In his nine years with the district, Flores said, he’s seen “just about everything ... I’ve seen some really gruesome stuff. The only thing I haven’t seen is childbirth.”
Because the district covers 70 square miles — from the South Fork to the Middle Fork of the Yuba and from Bridgeport to Malakoff Diggins — response time can be an issue.
“Our biggest challenge is getting to the people in need in a timely manner,” he said.
Response times, depending on the remoteness of the terrain, can be from 3 minutes to as much as 15 minutes.
Flores said the district gets about 250 to 300 calls a year — at least a call a week, on average. Of those calls, he estimated, 90 percent are for medical aid.
The record, he said, was seven calls in one day.
“That was a very busy day,” he said.
A Dec. 27 fire to an outbuilding on Cruzon Grade and Back Bone Road was a perfect example of the challenges faced by North San Juan firefighters.
Because of the deep snow in the area and the remoteness of the structure, firefighters had to lay more than 800 feet of fire hose just to get water to the blaze.
“That was a very challenging experience,” Flores said, laughing ruefully about how firefighters, encumbered by their suits, floundered through the snow while dragging hose.
To contact Staff Writer Liz Kellar, e-mail lkellar@theunion.com or call 477-4229.
“I’m looking forward to seeing him struggle,” Johnson joked on Friday, adding he is sticking around to serve as Flores’ assistant fire chief.
“He grew up in this department,” Johnson said — and that’s no exaggeration.
Flores started as a volunteer firefighter with North San Juan after he graduated from high school in 1994 and has taken only a few years off since then.
Flores began volunteering at the urging of his grandfather, Carlos, who was a volunteer for seven years with the department. Six months later, he got a call from Calfire to work as a seasonal firefighter.
After three summer seasons, he transferred to the U.S. Forest Service to broaden his understanding of wildland firefighting — and he’s been working in the field ever since.
“I love it,” Flores said. “I love firefighting.”
Now, Flores said, he’s embarking on “the biggest challenge I’ve ever taken on.”
He already puts in 40 hours a week at his paid job — as engine captain for the Forest Service in Downieville — and estimated he puts in about 30 hours a week in North San Juan.
“My life is pretty full,” he grinned. “But it’s going to be fun. I’m looking forward to it.”
Flores is married and has three young children, so he makes sure he carves out family time as well.
Wife Angel also is a volunteer with the district — she is a captain at Fire Station No. 2 — so she is more understanding than many wives might be.
“Getting her involved was a way for us to stay together,” Flores said.
He survives the rigors of two jobs and parenting “one day at a time,” he said.
“Family time is usually 7 to 8:30, before the kids go to bed, and from 5:45 a.m. when they get up to 7:20, when they hop on the bus. Weekends, of course, there’s more family time. We have 15 acres and we do things at home — riding quads, dirt bikes and go-karts.”
Flores also got his father, Fernando, to join the department, and he volunteered for five or six years. At one point, all three generations were volunteers at the same time.
The North San Juan Fire District has three stations — the main station on Tyler-Foote Road and two smaller stations in French Corral and North San Juan. The main station has office staff members who work five days a week. There are about 25 volunteer firefighters on the roster who are responsible for coming to training and working duty shifts.
The district normally has two firefighters on shift during the week and three on the weekends.
All volunteers must have basic first aid and CPR certification, then they are on probation for a year. While on probation, they must complete more first aid training, plus courses in fighting wildland and structure fires.
“Usually, we aren’t going to throw new people to a major trauma call,” Flores said.
“They might be there as observers or start out doing paperwork at the scene. ... We always need manpower.”
In his nine years with the district, Flores said, he’s seen “just about everything ... I’ve seen some really gruesome stuff. The only thing I haven’t seen is childbirth.”
Because the district covers 70 square miles — from the South Fork to the Middle Fork of the Yuba and from Bridgeport to Malakoff Diggins — response time can be an issue.
“Our biggest challenge is getting to the people in need in a timely manner,” he said.
Response times, depending on the remoteness of the terrain, can be from 3 minutes to as much as 15 minutes.
Flores said the district gets about 250 to 300 calls a year — at least a call a week, on average. Of those calls, he estimated, 90 percent are for medical aid.
The record, he said, was seven calls in one day.
“That was a very busy day,” he said.
A Dec. 27 fire to an outbuilding on Cruzon Grade and Back Bone Road was a perfect example of the challenges faced by North San Juan firefighters.
Because of the deep snow in the area and the remoteness of the structure, firefighters had to lay more than 800 feet of fire hose just to get water to the blaze.
“That was a very challenging experience,” Flores said, laughing ruefully about how firefighters, encumbered by their suits, floundered through the snow while dragging hose.
To contact Staff Writer Liz Kellar, e-mail lkellar@theunion.com or call 477-4229.
