OUR EDITORS
RYAN BECKERS
By: Jared Newcomer
Ryan has served as the Lead Assistant Editor
since the FIREWIRE’s inception in 2014. He is
currently assigned as an Engineer at Station 75 in
Muscoy. he has also worked in the high desert and
mountain during his time at County Fire. He lives
in Lake Arrowhead.
Gary McCord
Few have had as diverse a fire service career
as recently retired County Fire Captain Gary
McCord. From ambulances to bulldozers,
fire engines to crew buggies, Gary saw and
accomplished much in his time, leaving a
legacy and work ethic that will be hard to
duplicate.
Gary started his career as a young man in
various capacities around Big Bear. A true public servant at heart, he worked
with the YMCA, running entities in the area such as Camp Whittle, which is still in
service. In 1975 he was attending EMT school and was recruited to a paid-call
firefighter position with the Big Bear City Fire Department. During that time he
also volunteered fo r San Bernardino County Sheriff Search and Rescue. Never
satisfied, he also took a job with Bear Valley Ambulance and started working
towards becoming a paramedic.
Gary graduated from Crafton Hills College, earning that license and eventually
hiring on as a firefighter/paramedic with the Yucca Valley Fire Protection District,
which was part of the San Bernardino County Fire Agency at the time. He would
spend his next 15 years in service at Station 121 (now 41).
Somehow, with all that going on, Gary built a house with his bare hands. Yucca
Valley had a rule at that time which required an employee to buy or rent a house
in Yucca Valley within a year of employment. Gary loved his hometown of Big Bear
and had no intention of living elsewhere. So he “bought” all of the materials for
his house from Barr Lumber in Yucca Valley and built the house in Big Bear he still
lives in today. “I bought a house in Yucca Valley,” he chuckles, “I just had it shipped
elsewhere.”
When asked to reflect on his career Gary says, “I’m just grateful for all the different
opportunities they gave me.” He loved running medical aids in Yucca Valley, but also
enjoyed showing up on a dozer to make a difference. He was fortunate enough to
help with the efforts after Hurricane Katrina, and felt proud to give inmates a skill set
they can use to help change their lives for the better. He is fond of his ten years with
the fuels program, stating, “I felt that was very important stuff.”
Now that Gary is retired he plans to spend more time with his family. He wants
to catch up on lost time with Janet, his wife of 36 years. He plans to spend more
time with his children as well. His son Ryan recently graduated from UCSB and is a
civilian engineer with the Navy, building drones. His daughter Karrie is a registered
nurse who is now training to be a nurse anesthetist at Hoag Hospital. Recently the
family went through an incredibly difficult ordeal with Karrie, but at the time this
article was written, Gary is happy to say she is doing very well and is on the road
to a great recovery with minimal deficits. “Thank you for all the prayers and good
wishes,” Gary said.
Gary is very involved in his church as well and plans to serve as a missionary in
Mexico. It must be astonishing to see just how many lives Gary has touched in his
career of continued service. When asked any closing comments about his career he
says,” I loved every minute of working with County Fire. We got so big I’m sorry to
those I didn’t meet. I hope everyone’s career is as rewarding as mine and I’ll miss
those I worked with and those we were able to help.”
Gary seems to readily acknowledge the good fortune that brought him the many and
varied opportunities highlighting his career. Yet it should be said rather that it was the
organization which was lucky to have him. Many of us can look to his example as we
follow the path of our own careers.
Thanks Gary, we’ll miss you and God bless.
When it was time Gary promoted to engineer and served a couple years
in Wrightwood. In 2004 he became a captain and went to the inmate worker
program. Initially his job was to supervise inmates with projects, but the work
evolved into a hazardous fuels abatement program that Gary ran for 10 years.
Through his crews’ preventative efforts, countless homes and civilians were likely
spared disaster. County Fire’s dozer program also grew into its current form through
the needs of this work.
KYLE HAUDUCOEUR
With 14 years in the San Bernardino Co Fire
Dept, Kyle Hauducoeur is an Associate Editor
assigned to Division 1, Station 73 B. “It is a
privilege to serve our contributor’s and bring
their ideas to the pages of the FIREWIRE.”
DAN NELSON
BRENTON BAUM
Brenton Baum is an Engineer/Paramedic with
SBCoFD and currently works in the community
of Lake Arrowhead. Brenton serves as an editor
for FIREWIRE and also facilitates article authors.
He is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts in
Organizational Leadership at Brandman University.
KALINA COX
Kalina has served as Administrative Secretary II
for SBCoFire, Office of Emergency Services for
over 7 years. She holds a degree in Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) and is currently in the
process of earning her Emergency Management
Specialist certification from Cal OES and also
completing her task book to become a GIS
Specialist. In her current position at SBCoFire
OES Kalina edits and formats the OES Quarterly
Report, which can be found posted on the
SBCoFire website. Within SBCoFire OES she has
been given the opportunity to learn great amounts
about emergency management including planning,
preparedness, mitigation, and recovery. In her
spare time Kalina enjoys any activity that gets
her outdoors and road trips. Kalina also loves
to spend time with family, friends, and Belgium
Shepard, Boogieman, who she has taught many
tricks, including “stop, drop and roll,” to pick up
trash, and to count to three.
Captain Dan Nelson is currently assigned in
Division 3. He started his career in the fire
service as a paid-call firefighter for Victorville
Fire Department (VFD) in 1995. In 1998, he
was hired as a full-time firefighter for VFD. In
2008, Dan joined his fellow VFD firefighters
in becoming members of San Bernardino
County Fire. Dan holds a Masters of Business
Administration from Cal State San Bernardino,
a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from
Chapman University in Orange, Calif., and an
associate’s degree in fire technology from
Victor Valley College.
JARED NEWCOMER
Captain Jared Newcomer is currently assigned
to Station 314 in Victorville. Starting as
an explorer at Station 10 in Phelan, he
worked his way through the ranks, eventually
completing paramedic school and being hired
full-time as a graduate of Tower 1. Promoted
to captain in 2015, he recently earned an
MBA from the University of LaVerne. Last
year he was elected to the SBCERA Board of
Retirement as a trustee. Jared and wife Kelly
enjoy camping and traveling; they reside in
Apple Valley.
In 2014 the fuels abatement program ended and Gary went to spend his last two
year s as a captain at Station 91 in Lake Arrowhead.
THANK YOU FOR READING
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FIREWIRE • Winter 2016
Winter 2016 • FIREWIRE
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