Mendocino Fire celebrate milestones as department welcomes new volunteers
The Mendocino Volunteer Fire Department recently celebrated a noteworthy milestone for several of its members while welcoming newcomers to their rank and file. This past summer, MVFD awarded 20-year pins to Dirk Dooley, David Lindstrom, and John Paul McMillan. These volunteers have sacrificed valuable time away from work and family to serve the town of Mendocino for two decades responding to multiple thousand emergencies for our local residents, tourists escaping to Mendocino, and the greater citizens of California by participating in mutual aid requests across county lines. These firefighters have dedicated countless hours in training and fostering the growth of those who have come after them in an effort to create a robust fire department.
Dirk Dooley has worn many hats while serving on MVFD ranging from Assistant Chief to current President of the membership. Dooley is a great leader of the department who doesn’t shy away from taking on additional assignments and provides the invaluable service of providing vehicles for auto extrication training as part of his business Mendocino Automotive. When Dooley first joined the department his son Devin was barely old enough to climb into a fire engine, now his son is a college graduate.
David Lindstrom has been a jack-of-all-trades within the department for years. A master rigger for rope rescue, Lindstrom has used his creative prowess for years to help those in need of rescue. A long-time Captain, Lindstrom has imparted his wealth of technical knowledge to dozens of firefighters. Similar to Dooley, Lindstrom had a small child
when he first joined the department. He now has two children. Alex, who is enrolled at Sacramento State University studying engineering while his daughter Emily is going into her senior year of high school.
John Paul Mcmillan has been a staple of MVFD for years and is recently recovering Assistant Chief, Mcmillan is beloved by the department, and is known as someone who can break any door down, Mcmillan has been part of all the department’s rescue teams but perhaps is most notable for his water rescue strengths. Mcmillan is a master operator who has been part of some dangerous rescues and there are those who owe their lives to him.
Just like Dooley and Lindstrom, Mcmillan’s children have grown up in the time that he has been in the department. Rowan, Michele, and Allison should be proud of their dad and all of the people he’s helped over the years.
This past year Mcmillan was promoted to the position of Grandpa.
While celebrating their 20-year volunteers, MVFD also welcomes four new probational members to their team. Their new members come from an array of backgrounds. Nina Larsen and Vivian Daniel are longtime nurses who are lending MVFD their expertise as dedicated Medical Responders. Their wealth of medical knowledge will be instrumental as MVFD continues to respond to more and more medical calls every year. Known for his heroic water rescues over the past several years as a State Parks Lifeguard, Ean Miller has joined the rank and file and is definitely going to make a splash. Our final probationary member is Seneca Sluis who is beloved by the community for her selfless dedication as a teacher for the Mendocino Unified School District. Seneca has shown a tenacity for developing new skills, responding to as many calls as possible, and looking for any opportunity to help. With these new recruits, the future is bright for MVFD