John Retires Party April 27th!

Please text any pictures you would like to share to Emily, 520-271-2641

John entered the TFD Academy in the Spring of 2006 with a class of 60, which lost 18, under training Captain Fishback, accompanied by Captains MacNamara, Thompson, Bunker Baker, and two Carascos. His alphabetical seat mates were Ricky Gerardo, Adrian Fernandez, and Adam Ivan. The bond is eternal. John was one of the top fastest mile runners in the class, despite being the oldest in the class at 44.

His boot year was with Nate Webber at Station 5, where he also worked with John Conahay, Larry Rupel, Jason Gilmore, and Aaron Leonard. He cut his teeth there with calls to interesting customers who repaired their motorcycles in their living room and drove into stationary buildings. 

From there he enjoyed the quiet and the direct bike route down Houghton at station 19 as part of the Rapid Response Team; or, as his wife called them: the Sky Monkeys. He was partnered with Sal Contreras and had the privilege to serve the community in running calls like those to I-10 to assist with 18 wheelers choosing an early exit. 

The good times with the crew of Station 20 loom large. At first under grounded Mike Walls, then gregarious Captain Tony Gonzales and steady Captain Chris Pena, he, Steve Huber, Justin Keith, Andy Stead, Engineers Brian Horch and Chris Wachala, —at times, Dan Shannon, took up the slack for Station 8 and developed an intimate understanding of the 0-5 area and exciting swift water rescues.

Aspiration to drive a big red truck and to have less cause to go interior on Cat Lady calls, he promoted up to Engineer in 2016. Swinging, he was all over, his car half-full of turnouts and gear, but he was most often at Stations One, conveniently timed to consistently be there when they were running haz-mat drills. Boot year as a driver he enjoyed the company of Captain Mark Maybower, Max Johnson, Ryan DeWald, Silas Spencer, Brett Allen, Collin Thompson in the low-ceiling building of Station 13.

During his years in permanent positions, he was a bike commuter and when he won a spot at Station 16, he was close to home and could take advantage of its proximity to Saguaro National Park East, to ride a quick loop through “The Monument” on his way home. The desert ride cleansed him of the client calls like: people with extra-sensory ability to see bugs, hear chemicals and smell sounds unregistered by all others present, stepping in a bucket of urine, braving the Covid dangers, unknowns, and protocols. He didn’t miss a chance to push up those back hills at the National Park, even if it was a 6-call night. Paul Tessen was his companion firefighter, fellow academy class alumni Travis North joined occasionally, medic Frank Flores added flair, as well as a host of solid boots who colored the days. It was a pleasure to finish up with Capitan James Ray, who was a steady presence during harder times. While other stations were leaving the beans cooking on the stove a bit too long, this station was even-keeled and steadily demanding. 

By some he was called the “Crazy Whisperer” because of his ability to diffuse situations with agitated customers, but also because of his dexterity in juggling the personalities, egos and agendas of his many valued co-workers like one of Barnum’s acrobats. Now, he can let those skills atrophy and let the off-kilter people just do their own thing without his needing to be part. 

Through the years, his vacations involved taking off two tours to get a long, 20+ day vacation away from the hot summer in his other Big Red Truck, the ’97 F350 with a slide-in camper. Off to Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Utah, N. California,  with bikes, kayaks and hiking boots, he, Emily, and dog Hudson, would disappear into their explorations hitting the beautiful sites and thrilling bike rides. This was a baby-step that sparked research into overland vehicles. After hours of investigation, he decided, if you are going to go for it, go for the biggest and most extravagant. Building up his dream overland vehicle is his Retirement Project. If you have spoken to John in the last 8-10 years, you have probably heard of this Project: a souped up, burly-tired F550 married to a four-season “habitation” box which he is in the process of building up in order to take off to the places that have yet been named or discovered. The years of research and enthusiasm prepared him to design the solar, electrical, plumbing and all other systems for this rig. Now, when he wakes in the middle of the night, it is not tones, but to sparks of brilliant design ideas that get his blood pumping at code three.

His stories of the department and the range of calls are common to those within the system but wild to someone not working there. They are memories that may become embellished tales with the years of retelling. Perhaps the forgotten ones will emerge around a campfire one night come out beginning, “I never told you about X call, did I?,” but maybe not. The fire department sees so much that others can’t understand. Firefighters process it with a gallows humor and compartmentalize it, not to be mentioned once you leave the “office” in the morning.  They witness a part of humanity that may not be good to know and may be best left behind when they finally turn in your turn-outs. However, the high of solving a problem, lessening suffering, being there to fix or make a situation better, is a point of pride and honor. It is an honor to be chosen and recognized as a front line, highly valued, essential worker. You earn the title of First Responder thoroughly. The pride in this job is being able to walk into an unknown situation with your crew and be confident the group has the skills, smarts, and instincts to achieve the best outcome efficiently. TFD is a tight, well-trained department consistently doing our best which is what the community deserves.

John is thankful for all the relationships he has made during his career: the skills learned at the department which he use in daily life, fluency in dealing with stressful situations, a deeper understanding of the human condition, and, the chance to drive into on-coming traffic, realizing every kids dream: to drive a firetruck. He will miss his co-workers, other people’s favorite recipes and the endless ice cream.