Since 1873, the Colusa Fire Department has been relying on trained volunteers to serve the safety needs of the city.
“When you first start volunteering with us, you start out as a recruit,” said CFD Training Officer Emilio Swift.
Swift said after recruits come in and learn all there is to learn and prove they have the skills to do the job, they are promoted to firefighter.
“Everyone kind of goes at their own pace,” Swift said.
On Feb. 1, the Colusa Fire Department graduated three new recruits and a former seasoned volunteer to the ranks of firefighters.
Martin Contreras, Salvador Lara, and Diego Avila were sworn in by Fire Chief Logan Conley, along with William “Billy” Wolf, who returned to the fire department as a volunteer after a lengthy absence.
“For those who don’t know Billy, he was a volunteer for a long time in the early 2000s,” said Assistant Training Officer Gumer Salazar.
Salazar said because fire services are constantly advancing, Wolf opted to go through the training program again the same as any other recruit, flying through the program in just a few months.
Contreras was a volunteer with the department for two years, which started out as a Colusa High School senior project in 2020.
Lara took his time graduating from the program to become a firefighter, but has been a volunteer at the department for four years. Avila also volunteered for about 1.5 years before he, too, completed his firefighter training.
Swift said recruiting volunteers and graduating firefighters are cause for the department to celebrate.
Swift said volunteer firefighters play a very important role in sustaining the fire department and part of recruiting and retaining volunteers is to introduce youth to fire and emergency medical services, emphasizing community services and civic involvement, through positive mentoring, training, and career development.
“We are starting a Firefighter Explorer Program to allow kids 17 and older to start learning what we do around here,” Swift said.
While youth volunteers can’t enter a fire, they can volunteer around the station, helping to clean the engines, put tools back in order, and other necessary tasks after a fire.
Colusa Fire Department currently has two Colusa High School seniors volunteering at the department as part of their senior projects.
Estefania Gutierrez’ focus is on the importance of developing a good work ethic at a young age. Jared Sager’s focus is on the mental health aspect of firefighting.
Both plan to enlist in the Army National Guard after graduating from high school.
“They are both trying to learn what they can from us before they finish basic training,” Swift said. “Hopefully, they will come back and volunteer with us.”
Contreras, who started out as a high school volunteer before becoming a trained firefighter, currently has full time employment but he has not ruled out becoming a career firefighter in the future.
Colusa Fire Department is staffed by both career firefighters and a roster of about 25 volunteers. ■