The current Fire Chief in Riverside County has been a fireman since the top five songs on the Billboard Music Charts were all by The Beatles. That, in case you were wondering, was 1964.

And over that time, he’s gone from being a seasonal fireman to being Chief of the Riverside Unit for Cal Fire, which also made him Riverside County’s fire chief. And since he took over in 2006, he’s learned lessons about what works, and what hasn’t. He’s also had to find ways to do more with less.

Some of those cost-saving, but service-providing accomplishments include expanding the Citizen Emergency Response Teams. Now, more than 250 civilians are trained each year – or the equivalent of six fire stations worth of staffing.

From the Desert Sun:

Riverside County supervisors appointed John R. Hawkins as the Cal Fire Riverside unit chief on Aug. 1, 2006. With his appointment, he also became the Riverside County fire chief.

Hawkins has worked for Cal Fire for 42 years and has been assigned throughout the state. He began is career with Cal Fire in 1964 as a seasonal firefighter.

Read the full article here.