Autobiography 

A couple decades ago...

It started with a small match-box car, the center of my undivided attention for hours as my little toy would traverse couches, wood stoves, kitchen tables, and even defy gravity as it wheeled down the hallway to my bedroom. The ‘little car’ grew up with me in a family where trucks and vehicles were our way of life. My grandfather bought and sold heavy diesel machinery. We would fix, restore, and operate just about any vehicle that moved. I had a unique situation where I went from building pretend roads with my favorite Tonka trucks at eight years old to operating machinery at ten years old.  It wasn’t until I was an adult in the workforce that I noticed that such things were not common.

When I graduated high school, my path seemed clear. Immediately, I took a job as a line diesel mechanic for Eller Corporation, where five other mechanics and I managed over one hundred pieces of machinery. College and trade school were not needed simply because, by this time, I had been in this business for eight years and fit right in. Just before graduating high school, my mom had randomly noticed a flyer looking for volunteers for our local fire department, Spokane County Fire District 10. At the time, I had no interest, but I thought it might be fun to do when I was off work; I applied, tested, and, within a week, had begun training.  With the volunteer training, we did evening classes during the week and every Saturday so that I could attend my mechanic job while training.

An Unexpected Career Path 

Strangely enough, I began to have a change of heart. While I loved the mechanic job, I noticed the differences in the people I worked with. The quality of character in the firefighter community was extraordinary. After six months of doing both mechanic and fire, I had finally decided that the fire service would be my career! At that point, I dropped everything and focused all my time on earning my career as a firefighter. Within one year, I was fully trained as an EMT in wildland and structure firefighting and could operate all the fire apparatus. It just so happened that my fire chief, Nick Scharff, noticed some special skills I also had. Very soon, I was assisting in fire truck maintenance and other station fabrication. In 2009, thanks to my contribution, I earned the Golden Wrench Award, the first and only.  I tried to be the best in every way I could imagine. It was recognized when I earned the Resident of the Year award in 2009 and the Firefighter of the Year award in 2010.

The Fire truck builds 

 In my second year with SCFD 10, the fire chief offered me an opportunity I even thought I was unprepared for. The department required three type 5 wildland fire trucks, but the department could only afford 2. If we build these trucks in-house with my skillset, we could afford 3 for the price of two. At 19, I was nervous due to how important the job was, but I felt confident I had the knowledge and skill to build exactly what we needed. After a month of planning, we bought the chassis, and pre-designed boxes were installed and painted Finally, they were delivered to my grandfather’s shop. I had worked a deal with my grandpa to use his shop for the builds but would help pay for the maintenance and care of the building during that time.  The details of the builds can be a book itself, but the outcome was three 550 Ford Chassis capable of 19,500lbs each with a winch, joystick-controlled front bumper nozzle, 500 Gallons of water, two booster reels, foam system, diesel pump, and the ability to draft and pump while driving. This was one of my early achievements that was completed as my time with SCFD 10 ended. I was still a resident Firefighter and took regular shifts during the truck builds. I was also testing with various fire departments in Washington, Idaho, and Montana for a career position in a very competitive market. By the end of 2010, I had managed to conquer the process and was hired by the Kennewick Fire Department. I still check in on those trucks I built, and they are still in service today, 14 years later.

My Dream Job 

Kennewick Fire Department offered me a chance to start fresh! I moved to Kennewick and completed all initial training. By this time, it was easier because it was the second time I was going through it. From the academy, I came home with a Leadership Award, Truckie Award, and Bulldog Award. Kennewick Fire Department has now been my home for the last 13 years. I followed the standard JATC Process and earned my Journeyman after my third year. Part of that process requires a fire science course, and I completed all the coursework through Columbia Basin College.

Ironmans

Settling into my new life, I started running, cycling, and swimming. Starting small with sprint distance, I completed my first Ironman Triathlon within the first year of training. I especially liked cycling; it became my therapy and community with the Chinook Cycle Club. We were all like-minded folk intent on personal development. The triathlons gave me a goal and a reason to wake up every day and hit the road. I continued to do triathlons, and by the end of 2017, I had completed 10 Ironman 70.3 events (swim 1.2mi, bike 56mi, run 13.1mi) and 5 Ironman 140.6 events (Swim 2.4mi, Bike 112mi, Run 26.2mi). By 2017, my wife and I had our first baby girl; my priorities became my family. I continued doing the occasional smaller triathlons, knowing I would return to the competitive field soon.

This is a great time to describe one of the most stressful times of my life. Not because the tasks were challenging but rather because I took on an assignment far outside my comfort zone and learned a great lesson. Knowing that I could not commit the time to triathlon training with my new family, I still felt tied to this athletic community. I decided to take on the position of Tri-Cities Marathon Race director. It was a case of the past director retiring, and no one could fill it. This was a volunteer position, and I quickly learned how to manage a Boston qualifying marathon. This race had been here for nearly 40 years, and I wouldn’t let it die. In hindsight, we did very well, and the non-profit benefited from the two years I acted as the director. The lesson learned was more about personalities and how meaningful relationships are in management. 

Paramedic

Back in the career field, while these triathlons were occurring, I had begun training as a paramedic. In our career, we are cross-trained in medical and fire response. It was a natural direction as I continued to develop myself. Interestingly, the cellular biology and physiology I studied in college helped me understand and develop my physique while training for triathlons. By luck, doing paramedic and triathlons simultaneously has allowed me to become well-versed in training plans. Over the following years, my coworkers met up, and I helped them draft training goals and plans and help them understand the various injuries and why they are occurring. I completed Paramedic training in 2016 and continue that practice today.

The Crazy Kenworth 

In 2018, I had an interesting personal/mental development. I have been in the fire service as a paramedic and fire engineer for ten years. I spent about two years with a troubled mind. The calls and the chronic lack of sleep had created a monster that my wife and I struggled to understand. What I realize now, in hindsight, is that there was no good way to stop your therapy. It turned out that when I had stopped cycling every day for triathlon training, it removed a particular time that allowed my brain to process all the ugly memories from work and reset my mental health. Because of the time I wanted to be home with my now two baby girls, I knew I needed something to preoccupy my hands so my mind could relax. It was the truck project. By 2018, I had gone a few years not working on trucks and missed it. An old 1960 Kenworth farm truck was a few doors down in my neighbor’s yard. One day, I gave him a price he couldn’t refuse and went to work! This is a semi-truck designed to carry about 50,000 lbs. of hay. I wanted a low-rider with sleek lines that recalled the 1920s but in a truck form. I stretched the frame about 10 feet, tunneled the body, and made a ‘one of a kind’ front clip that allowed the body to lower to the ground. A truck of this kind has never been built, and it continues to be my hobby as I adjust and tweak my designs. Part of the iterative process is trial and error, and I began to drive the truck to work every shift to ensure I flushed out each design flaw. The truck has earned its own identity now in Tri-Cities. I describe my crazy Kenworth as art, being able to bring your childhood smile to your face. The little Matchbox car I grew up with elicits the same happy mental place. It is a semi-truck capable of racing 100mph while hauling 20,000 lbs. on the way to a car show. It parks outside my shop, and nearly every day, I meet someone who wants to take pictures with it, share their story, or take it all in. It has become Benton City Landmark, and if someone doesn’t know me, I just tell them I’m the crazy Kenworth truck owner.

The Super Mongo Shop

In 2020, when COVID hit, I built my ideal shop. My wife has an uncanny ability to encourage me to take on anything. This was no different. Wrenching on trucks on the side and welding and fabricating was challenging in my little 17’ by 22’ garage. I started on my computer, building the entire building in 3D CAD, which I had been teaching myself to use to design parts for my Kenworth. Once the designs were in, I started construction in July and had the building up and operational by the new year. As all can recall, the social distance goal of 2020 worked well in my favor as I used every waking minute building. My shop is also a proud accomplishment as I designed and built every part of that structure. It is 64 feet wide and 60 feet long, with 20-foot ceilings and an upstairs room for 4000 square feet. The floor is concrete with radiant heat, allowing my now four baby girls to play comfortably in the winter. The design is a blend of pole building and residential truss that allows for the upstairs room.

Old No. 2 and others

The word got out once the shop was done, and coworkers lined up to complete their projects. I use the shop to recreate. I have a sandblasting room and an oven to powder coat everything I make. Because my career is my funding source, it allows my hobby work to remain of the highest quality without infringing on profit margins. One such project was Old No. 2. It was Kennewick Fire Department’s second fire truck in service from 1935 to 1966. As Local 1296, we had managed to buy the truck from the city of Kennewick, and in 2019, I started restoring that truck to its former glory. The goal for old no 2 was a drivable showpiece for parades and community events. The restoration went smoothly, with many community members offering donations and services to help complete it. For example, Riverside Collision donated the paint once I had prepped the bodywork. By 2021, that truck was completed and now sits in Fire Station 65 as a showpiece. It can be seen in all the local parades and many car shows.

Hydraulics Instructor 

In the career realm, my truck knowledge was put to work on the fire engineer side. Due to my penchant for trucks, especially fire trucks, in 2016, I began developing the JATC 2nd year pumping program. The previous one needed to be improved, and precise, consistent training was a must. This program involved writing articles and researching industry best practices and program organization. By 2017, my program was completed and launched as part of KFD’s official training. I continue to monitor the program and add and adapt the content to ensure we have sound fire ground engineers. This area of expertise earned me the position of subject matter expert on apparatus and pumping. Perhaps yet another stroke of luck, I was approached by a coworker who used to teach hydraulics at Columbia Basin College. He hoped I would take on his position because he thought I was a natural fit. While time was rare, I saw the value of that experience and taught my first class as an adjunct instructor in 2021. I am the instructor presently and always look for ways to improve my delivery.

Honor Guard

Mental health is part of the ugly monster every firefighter must work to maintain. Interlaced in the last five years since 2017, our firefighter's union, Local 1296, formed a regional Honor Guard with a mission to be trained in the art of ceremony for our lost brethren. We brought in the nation’s best instructors and, in 2017, formed the Tri-Cities Professional Firefighter’s Honor Guard. This was an area that I excelled in due to my childhood as a Catholic altar boy and eventually Master of Ceremony. I took a leadership role in that team as we began to perform at events across the state. These events could be the opening ceremonies for sporting events to funerals for fallen firefighters. I even traveled to Colorado Springs to finish the final ceremony of a fallen Kennewick Firefighter. The leadership team became the ideal event planners. We were firefighters and captains who daily excelled in high-stress environments, organizing people to accomplish a goal. Funerals were no different. The relationship between the organizer/commander and the Fallen’s family was bittersweet. We would meet them at the worst of times. Help them through a funeral where we honor their service. Then there was the State recognition once a year where we would meet again—finally, the national service at Colorado Springs Fallen Firefighter’s Memorial. One such situation was a coworker who had retired to give me my firefighter position. He always held a place in my heart because of the opportunity he created for me. Cancer took him in 2020 from his work at Ground Zero in the 9-11 New York Trade Towers. I organized the team from the day he passed to his funeral, and then, because of COVID, we completed the State and National honors a year later. It wasn’t until two years after Steve’s Death that I finally could say to him that everything had been completed to Honor his legacy and service. It was a challenging yet wholesome time for my career, knowing that my brothers and sisters would do the same for me one day.

Conclusion:

2024 finds me the same. I have had a remarkable career and look forward to the next decade! A few principles have flushed their way out of this story. I live with two simple rules:

1. The blend of form and function is the foundation of beauty and defines my purpose.

2. My business is one of learning. I perceive problems and become the solution.