Our Firefighters
Fire chief - Ari Delay
Assistant fire chief - Peter Panofsky
Rory Doolin
Sammy Barker
Sean McCarthy
Tim Dodson
Uriel Villa
Yxenia Contreras
Emergency Medical Responders:
Eden Williams
Jeremy Word
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Our Board Of Directors
Officers:
President - Kathleen Moazed
Kat has really enjoyed serving on the Board of the La Honda Fire Brigade these past two years. She grew up in this small town, so she thought she knew how much the Fire Brigade means to us. But serving on the Board has given her a far better understanding of how much really goes into sustaining the level of professional service that the La Honda Fire Brigade provides us. She is even more inspired now to serve another term on the Board as the best way she knows how to support our firefighters and the incredible work they do to keep our community safe.
Vice president - Yvette Fitzgerald
Yvette has lived in the Middleton neighborhood for 18 years. The CZU fire motivated her to get involved with the Brigade and train as a CERT, ham radio operator and volunteer to help the Brigade raise money and community support. The outstanding example of community leadership has encouraged her to join the board.
Treasurer - Vanessa Corbett
Vanessa is a longtime Coastside resident, that made the move to south (unicorporated) HMB in 2004 and later to La Honda in 2015. She loves the community of La Honda. She has thoroughly enjoyed meeting so many friendly people through volunteering for the many events that benefit the Fire Brigade. A graduate of Cal State Hayward (Now East Bay) with a BS in Business Administration, concentration in Accounting. Vanessa has held many Accounting roles throughout her career to date. She volunteered for a horse rescue about 5 years ago and acted as the treasurer for the non-profit organization and looks forward to continuing to volunteer in whatever capacity she can.
Secretary - Peter Chupity
Peter has been a La Honda resident for 40 years and active in training community members in CERT and ham radio for the past 16 years. As a small business owner he appreciates how much can be done by a small, dedicated group.
Board Members:
Liz Chapman
Liz lives in Cuesta La Honda and have been attending the FSSMC (Fire Safe of San Mateo County) meetings for some years. In the wake of the CZU fire, she quickly got involved in some wildfire prep work, including fire fuel reduction on CLH Guild-owned vacant lots and common areas, coordinating a firesafe landscaping presentation, beginning to clear french broom along the narrow neighborhood roadsides, and attending the South Skyline Fire Safe Council meetings. Joining the Fire Brigade Board has been a great way to connect these little efforts and the core of fire protection in our wider area.
Pat O'Coffey
Pat has lived in the wonderful community of Portola Heights for over 30 years. Her passion is Emergency Preparedness, especially at the neighborhood level. In addition, she enjoys teaching CERT and HAM Radio classes. She is extremely proud of our volunteer firefighters and their commitment to this wonderful community. It has been her honor to support them by serving on the board for the last 7 (of 8) years.
Use the Contact page to get in touch with us.
Our Mission
The La Honda Volunteer Fire Brigade exists to protect the lives, property and environment within the community and surrounding areas served from fires, disasters and emergency incidents through education, prevention, training and emergency response. As a Brigade we are a group of individuals organized to function as a unit in order to serve the vision, values and goals of our community.
The Brigade promotes equal service to all areas of the region in which it serves.
Our Values
The Brigade is committed to:
Community Service – listen and respond to those we serve
Diversity – respect individual differences
Integrity – maintain the highest ethical standards
Teamwork – strive for a collaborative relationship based on mutual trust and understanding – work together to resolve issues
The Volunteers – our greatest asset
Goals – Recruit, develop and retain qualified personnel
And to:
Provide a healthy and safe working environment
Provide training and equipment to successfully perform job assignments
Provide educational opportunities for personal enrichment
Recognize accomplishments and celebrate contributions to the organization
Provide optimum service levels to meet community needs
Maintain community identity in areas served
Be innovative and utilize technology for service improvements
Sample community input on quality of services
Promote inter-district cooperation
Recognize and act upon the need for fire prevention
Control emergency incidents which threaten lives, property and the environment through effective emergency incident management
Uphold the rich tradition of the La Honda Volunteer Fire Brigade according to the beliefs and visions of its founders
The intent of this statement is to remind all volunteer firefighters of their purpose during service as brigade members and to establish a mission for all of us to work toward while keeping in mind the best interests or our community – our #1 priority.
Whistle-Blower Policy
No director, officer, or member of the corporation shall knowingly, with the intent to retaliate, take any action harmful to any person for providing to a law enforcement officer, any truthful information relating to the commission or possible commission of any federal offense, dangerous practices, accounting or financial problems or other illegal, unethical or unsafe conduct in connection with the activities of the corporation.
Any officer or director of the corporation who receives information regarding activity described above shall bring the matter to the attention of an officer of the corporation who shall call a special meeting of the Board of Directors, excluding any director who may be the subject of the complaint, for the purpose of investigating any issues raised by the complaint.
Our Apparatus
R57
in service since 2010Rescue 57 is our transport and off-road capable rescue. It runs the majority of our calls, generally dispatched on medical aids, traffic accidents, and hazardous materials incidents.
R57 is equipped with tools for auto extrication, rope/cliff rescue, large animal rescue, hazardous materials, and MCIs.
E57
in service since 2016Engine 57 is our structural fire engine with a 1500 gallons-per-minute pump and a 500 gallon water tank, as well as a compressed-air foam system (CAFS). It is dispatched to structure fires, gas leaks, electrical lines down, and trees down.
E357
in service since 2004Engine 357 is our wild-land fire engine with a 1000 gpm pump, also with a 500 gallon water tank, as well as a compressed-air foam system (CAFS). It is off-road capable, designed to "pump and roll", or progressively lay long lengths of hose to surround and extinguish a fire.
Although typically dispatched on grass, brush, and landscape fires, it is also capable of fighting structure fires.
WT57
in service since 2002Water Tender 57 is a 3000 gallon tanker/pump combo with a 1000 gpm pump. It is dispatched to support fires where a water supply is difficult to establish.
U57
first in service 2001Utility 57 is all-purpose: used to haul equipment, tools, food, water, air bottles, personnel. It can respond to medical aids, be used to secure helicopter landing zones, and supports other calls and station operation in a variety of ways.
History
This organization dates back to June 1950 when Jack Glass, Cy Williams, Basil Willet and others formed the La Honda Canyon Community Hall Society at a local recreation spot called Troutmere. Their aim was to raise funds for the property and building of a community hall.
In 1954, the society sponsored the first Jr. Rodeo at the Glass Ranch to begin raising funds for a local fire department. This rodeo became a tradition to last many years. Over the years the group pursued fund raising and eventually purchased the property where the firehouse is today.
In 1965, the society changed its name to the La Honda Canyon Fire Brigade, adopting a new set of by-laws for their purpose. A decision to purchase a 1955 International fire truck was made and 19 volunteers signed on for training as firemen.
In July of 1965, the first fire truck entered town during the La Honda Days celebration along with a parade of marching bands, floats, riding clubs, classic cars, 4-H groups, Cub Scouts and numerous individuals with festive entries. By 1968, volunteers completed the new firehouse and it was officially dedicated by the Native Sons of the Golden West. The station has undergone several major remodels over the past 30 years in order to accommodate office space, an official San Mateo County Sheriff’s substation, and most recently improved training facilities.
Today the La Honda Fire Brigade remains as one of the last all-volunteer fire departments in the area. Staffed by a dedicated and professionally trained corps of volunteers, the brigade exists to protect lives, property and the unique environment of the rural portions of San Mateo County. Numerous community members act as an auxiliary to the Brigade donating their time and expertise during fund raisers and towards maintaining the firehouse. This long success can be attributed to the community at large. By supporting fund raisers and continuing annual membership (our primary sources of funding), the community demonstrates a strong spirit and insures all-risk protection for residents and visitors of the area.
La Honda Fire Brigade's original E-57 and first volunteer firefighters.
Original E-57.
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