I started as a volunteer on 12-16-77, my eighteenth birthday. I grew up around the old station on N Broadway and the new station on ldaho Street. My uncle Laurel Jensen was a volunteer for about 25 years until his death in 1978. I started as a volunteer at the Blackfoot station, one of only three at the time. We moved to Rockford in 1980 and I was at the Rockford station until 1982when we moved back to Blackfoot. I was working full time for Union Pacific out of Pocatello at this time. I was on some of my biggest fires as a volunteer including Russet Chemical, David's Elevator and Grimm Growers in 1980, Starlite Motel in 1983 and Rockford Welding in 1986, and a fatal haystack fire in Firth about'93. Went full time on 2-18-95 after taking a buy out from the railroad. I was promoted to Captain in January of 2002. Notable calls after I went full time would include Trestlewood in August of 2005, deploying for Katrina in September and October of 2005, the Sunset Manor fire in 1997, going to the Table Rock fire in the Sun Valley area in 2007 and the Hong fire in 2017. My retirement date was on 3-1-2020. I loved being a fireman and the people I worked with. I could not have succeeded as a Captain without having some very good firefighters that made me look good and made my job much easier. lt was not always fun and excitement as there were many times that were difficult and caused a few tears to be shed. We set around the kitchen table and as a group we were able to move on.
Retirement plans include taking care of the yard and birds that we raise. Also going fishing as much as possible and reading a lot of books and model building. Not to mention all the honey-dos that will always be there.
And thank you to all those that shared the ride with me and were there for the good and the bad. And thank you to my family and especially my wife Jodie. She helped make everything a lot easier to bear and was there for me after the really tough ones.