History

  • The North Tahoe Fire Protection District provides the highest possible level of fire and life safety, rescue and emergency medical service, fire prevention and public education to the citizens and visitors of the communities we serve.

  • 1930’s: There were few year-round residents at the north shore of Lake Tahoe before 1940; those that were here were hardy, self-reliant souls that came to each other’s aid when disaster struck. Very few County, State or Federal resources were anywhere close to the area. Large businesses such as Tahoe Tavern and the Brockway Hotel often had their own hose carts to fight fire, but throughout the West, a well-seated structure fire often burned down entire blocks or towns.

    1940’s: The Tahoe City Volunteer Fire Department was formed by residents in 1940 after several high-profile structure fires, including the loss of the Tahoe Tavern Hotel, Tahoe Inn and others. The 1937 Commons Fire destroyed multiple businesses, homes and the Tahoe City Post Office and Women’s Club.

    Carl Bechdolt, John Burns and CW Vernon were appointed Commissioners. They selected business owner/mechanic Joe Henry as Fire Chief. Such familiar Tahoe names as Bechdolt, Pomin, Kehoe, Spitsen, Vernon, Vanni, Hauserman and Scoville were volunteer firemen. Responding were two hose carts and a Dodge panel truck equipped with some surplus hose and a portable pump.

    At this time in history, most fire departments and districts were staffed with volunteers, which continues today. Firefighters lived and worked close to their stations and employers supported their response, even when businesses had to hang the “closed” sign to respond. It was seen as a shared responsibility for a modern community. Volunteers were highly respected and towns participated in all manner of ways to raise funds for new fire engines, equipment and training.

    1942 saw the passing of a Placer County resolution forming the Tahoe City Fire Protection District. As the war effort took most able-bodied men to serve or work in war industries, including Chief Henry and his son, the Board appointed Constable Harry Johanson as Acting Fire Chief in addition to his law enforcement duties.

    In 1946, Al Henry, the Fire Chief’s son, was appointed Chief after his return from service in World War II. His focus was to increase training and purchase a fire engine. In 1948, he purchased Tahoe City Volunteer Fire Department’s first motorized apparatus from Stanford University Fire Department. The 1922 Seagrave pumper had reached its 25th year of service for Stanford and was replaced. Chief Henry proudly loaded “Unit 1” on a train bound for Truckee. The engine remained in service until the 1960’s. In 1970, the master fire mechanic, Jerry Honkenen began a volunteer effort to restore Unit 1. It remains in the District as a parade rig and beautiful example of fire apparatus in the early 20th century

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    Fire Chiefs: Tahoe City Volunteer Fire Department/ Fire Protection District: Joe Henry 1940-1946

    Constable Harry Johanson (Acting/Interim) 1944-1946

    Al Henry appointed 1946

  • 1950’s: The post- World War II period saw many advances in technology, but also in creation of the “middle class”. Jobs and careers were plentiful and veterans and the public weary from the long warwanted to explore their country.

    Tahoe City Fire Protection District continued to expand their fleet, purchasing surplus military fire apparatus for use in our demanding fire environment. Volunteers began taking State Fire Marshal classes to expand their knowledge.

    The North Tahoe Fire Protection District, often referred to as Kings Beach Fire, was organized as the North Tahoe Fire Control District in 1952 after a local home burned to the ground during the winter of 1950. The single fire engine assigned to Truckee/Tahoe was a Forest Service pumper that had been mothballed for the winter. Neighbors watched helplessly as a lone Placer County Road Department snow-blower futilely attempted to suppress the blaze by throwing massive amounts of snow at the burning home.

    Residents organized and began raising funds to purchase a fire engine and establish the North Tahoe Fire Control District. After two years of dinners, dances and casino nights which included a dinner dance at Crystal Bay starring Nat King Cole, a 1952 Dodge 4 X 4 Power Wagon pumper was placed in service and staffed by 20 volunteers and 2 Chief Officers. Commissioners were: PM Burroughs, Ruben Welch, Eugene Jarvis, Roy Porath, Harry Stubley, Tom Sutton, and Bill Wiseman.

    Completed in 1956 by volunteer labor, Kings Beach Fire Station 1 at 288 North Shore Blvd began as a single story, 3 bay block building.

    In 1957, the North Tahoe Fire Protection District was formed under Placer County regulations when the 5,000 residents and businesses agreed to tax themselves to ensure their Fire District could continue to grow and respond.

    Fire Chiefs: Tahoe City Fire Protection District: Al Henry

    North Tahoe Fire Control/North Tahoe Fire Protection District: Max Krueger, Howard “Curly” Mason

    1960’s: Preparation for the 1960 Olympic Games at the former Squaw Valley, now Tahoe Palisades, caused a frenzy of new construction from Kings Beach to Tahoma as motels and restaurants rushed to be ready for the onslaught of visitors. The new businesses and the families that serviced and staffed them stayed, and a new era of winter and summer tourism began.

    In 1961, the North Tahoe Fire Protection District Board hired Joe Fulton, a 23-year professional firefighter, as the first paid Fire Chief. His wife Ella Rae was the dispatcher and secretary. A second floor was added to Station 41 at Highway 267 and 28 with two apartments for the Chief and an Assistant Chief and his wife.

    Having outgrown their small barn-like structure on top of the Tahoe City Commons at 300 North Lake Blvd, Tahoe City Fire Protection District built a new “state of the art” two-story, four-bay fire station at that location in 1961. The new station boasted a large volunteer meeting room, a Chief’s office and a hose tower with heat to dry fire hose during Tahoe’s long winters.

    1962 brought a new residential fire station in Homewood and in 1963, a north Tahoe fire station at Carnelian Bay.

    In 1964, Chief Henry appointed the first three paid Tahoe City Fire Protection District career firefighters to staff Station 51 full time. They also provided full time ambulance service with firefighters having first aid training. Also in 1964, construction was completed on a third Tahoe City Fire Protection District fire station in the new Dollar Point subdivision at Dollar Hill.

    Fire Chiefs: Tahoe City Fire Protection District: Al Henry

    North Tahoe Fire Protection District: Curly Mason, Joe Fulton, Charles Ridgeway

  • 1970’s: Tahoe City Fire Protection District firefighters joined the International Association of Firefighters, IAFF, bringing union membership and protection to firefighters.

    Firefighters from both Districts, including future Fire Chief Peter Poe, were trained as Emergency Medical Technicians, providing trained, certified medical first responders to supplement the spotty private ambulance coverage in the area.

    Labor laws required the transition from volunteer firefighters to part-time paid status. Part-time paid firefighters were critical to the response at both Districts since career staff only numbered between two and four personnel per 24-hour shift. They were paid minimum wage for response and training.

    1976 saw Tahoe City Fire Protection District responding to a record number of emergency calls as summer visitors and winter skiers swelled the population.

    In 1978, California taxpayers, tired of ever increasing property taxes on their homes, revolted and passed Proposition 13, which limited property tax to 1% of assessed value until the property was sold.

    The impact on tax-funded fire and school districts was devastating. Layoffs and pay cuts were rampant and Fire Chiefs were forced to decide between aging, worn-out fire engines or laying off firefighters as State legislators robbed county coffers to make up for lost tax revenues. Tahoe City Fire Protection District lost four full-time firefighters to layoffs and North Tahoe Fire Protection District left two positions unfilled.

    Dispatch for the north shore fire districts was assumed by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office outside Tahoe City. This ensured qualified full-time dispatch services for emergency calls 24 hours per day.

    Fire Chiefs: Tahoe City Fire Protection District: Al Henry

    North Tahoe Fire Protection District: Charles Ridgeway, Don Howard

    1980’s: Both district firefighters were trained as Paramedics and EMT-II’s to provide life-saving Advanced Life Support. Many of these personnel worked second jobs as Paramedics on the Tahoe Forest Hospital ambulances. Cardiac defibrillators and Advanced Life Support drugs and equipment were available for immediate patient treatment at the scene and for care during often long transports from scenes all over the Lake Tahoe Basin to the Tahoe Forest Hospital emergency room.

    As the local hospital district looked for ways to economize from the impact of Proposition 13, the decision was made to give the ambulance service to the local fire districts that were qualified and interested in providing the service. In 1982, Tahoe City, North Tahoe, Truckee and Donner Summit Fire Districts distributed the six Tahoe Forest ambulances to provide Paramedic service and more rapid response from four fire stations. As funds became available each fire district added new units to enable response from each area of their districts

    In 1983, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office implemented the new 911 emergency call system as California completed the nationwide transition from many local emergency phone numbers to the single call to 911.

    In 1985, North Tahoe Fire Protection District added a two-story bay to Kings Beach Fire Station 41 to house the ladder truck and a second ambulance. A training and conference room was above.

    Fire Chiefs: Tahoe City Fire Protection District: Gerald Gay, Ken Lewis, Jerry Mansur

    North Tahoe Fire Protection District: Don Howard, Ray Martin

  • 1990’s: The October, 1991 death of North Tahoe Fire Chief Ray Martin in a plane crash accelerated bi-District discussions of consolidation between the Fire District Boards. North Tahoe Fire Protection District Lieutenant/Paramedic Duane Whitelaw was selected to lead the consolidation of North Tahoe Fire Protection District and Tahoe City Fire Protection District. Chief Whitelaw had previously consolidated two California Parks Districts and his master’s degree and experience managing the North Tahoe Public Utility District in conjunction with his history as a fire officer with North Tahoe Fire Protection District and Susanville made him an obvious and excellent choice. The new District boundaries were from Meeks Bay to Alpine Meadows to Northstar to Crystal Bay encompassing the entire California north shore of Lake Tahoe. Board members were selected from each of the former Districts and were assigned and henceforth elected by the five regions within the new District boundaries. Renumbering of the fire stations resulted in headquarters station 51 at 300 N Lake Blvd, Tahoe City, Station 52 at 288 N Shore Blvd, Kings Beach, Station 53 at 5425 W Lake Blvd, Homewood, Station 54 at 159 Observation Dr, Tahoe City located in the Dollar Point area, and Station 55 at 240 Carnelian Bay Rd, Carnelian Bay.

    As forest fires became more and more common and catastrophic throughout California, prevention became critical to public safety and maintaining Lake Tahoe’s world renown clarity. A District defensible space inspection and vegetation chipping program was enacted and staffed with immediate results.

    Under Chief Whitelaw’s leadership, North Tahoe Fire Protection District was recognized as one of the premier Advanced Life Support providers in the state and was consistently at the forefront of new approaches in patient care and emergency response. He increased staffing to safe levels and built mutual and automatic aid relationships with neighboring fire agencies. He is responsible for bringing Cal Fire, the State wildland firefighting agency, into the Lake Tahoe Basin, enabling their use of an unmanned station to house a staffed Cal Fire brush engine during fire season.

    Chief Whitelaw supported new entry level testing procedures, and promoted our first female fire captain, Paramedic/MICN Randi Pugliese. Under his leadership, North Tahoe Fire Protection District contracted to provide Alpine Springs Community Water District a staffed fire engine and Paramedic ambulance at Alpine Meadows Fire Station 56 at 270 Alpine Meadows Rd, Alpine Meadows for 24/7/365 response, enhancing the existing volunteer fire response.

    He also advanced a contractual agreement for Paramedic ambulance service to their neighbors at Meeks Bay, who are cut off from ambulance service and from mutual aid assistance from the South during winter.

    Fire Chiefs: Tahoe City Fire Protection District: Jerry Mansur

    North Tahoe Fire Protection District: Ray Martin, Duane Whitelaw

  • 2000’s: On September 11, 2001, terrorists intentionally hijacked and crashed four airliners, including two that were crashed into the World Trade Center towers in Manhattan. Over three thousand people were killed, including three hundred forty-three FDNY firemen attempting to rescue and evacuate occupants of the twin towers.

    Nine North Tahoe firefighters were out of town fighting the “Gold Fire” in Trinity County when suddenly all firefighting aircraft and helicopters were grounded by the FAA. Communications about the terrorist attack were unclear and many personnel were unaware of the attack until the next day. Normal emergency responses continued even as rumors of war and further attacks were rampant.

    During this decade, the District was aggressive at attaining grant funds to initiate a Defensible Space program in our community, including free property inspections, a neighborhood vegetation chipping program, and disaster evacuation instruction with mapping for residents and visitors.

    Chief Whitelaw instituted new purchasing methodologies, enabling purchase of new apparatus and ambulances to ensure fleet reliability.

    Fire Chief: Duane Whitelaw

    2010’s: In 2010, Chief Whitelaw secured property and funds to build our first new fire station in over 50 years. In June, 2012, Station 51 moved from its location downtown to a new state of the art, LEED-certified Station at 222 Fairway Drive, Tahoe City. Built as a 50-year headquarters station, Station 51 boasts five double-deep bays, offices and a conference room equipped as an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for large scale disasters.

    During his tenure, Chief Whitelaw maintained his certification as a Paramedic. He also led the Lake Tahoe Basin in purchasing 12-lead EKG monitor/defibrillators and implementing direct emergency transport criteria for these patients to qualified cardiac catheter facilities, saving many lives in our community. The Board’s support of this large expense was directly responsible for saving lives that otherwise may have been lost or forever damaged.

    In 2012, Chief Duane Whitelaw retired after almost 22 years as Fire Chief.

    Assistant Chief Peter Poe, a 35-year veteran of North Tahoe Fire Protection District and former Fire Chief of West Almanor Fire & Rescue in Chester, CA, was promoted to Fire Chief for the remainder of his long career as the Board searched for a new Fire Chief.

    Though confronted with a budget savaged by the 2008 recession and slow recovery, Chief Poe maintained staffing and implemented our “Apprentice Firefighter “ program, enabling qualified part-time paid firefighters to work shifts alongside career firefighters to alleviate short staffing concerns. This program provided quality, qualified firefighters, many of whom became career firefighters for local Districts.

    Chief Poe also instituted the District Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) which educates individuals about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT volunteers can assist others in their community following a disaster when professional responders are not immediately available to help.

    After rigorous testing, Michael Schwartz, a former Battalion Chief and Paramedic for our neighbors at the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District in Incline Village, NV was selected as Fire Chief of the North Tahoe Fire Protection District in October, 2012.

    Chief Schwartz focused on ensuring District boundaries were open and built consensus by our mutual aid partners for immediate response to any emergency by any of the neighboring agencies when local resources were already committed. This meant that previous delays in dispatch to try to ensure local response were eliminated in favor of immediate response without regard for paper boundaries.

    Chief Schwartz was aggressive with grant-seeking, believing that state and federal taxes should be returned to our taxpayers by attaining grants for new fire engines, equipment and especially to hire firefighters.

    Another progressive change brought by Chief Schwartz was the implementation of “cost-based budgeting” which brought increased transparency and efficiency to the required yearly budget process.

    He also enacted an agreement to oversee administration and emergency response and to provide a Chief Officer for Meeks Bay Fire Protection District after the retirement of their Fire Chief. Meeks Bay/North Tahoe Fire Protection District Station 67 is located at 8140 Emerald Bay Rd, Meeks Bay. Fire Station 68 is an unstaffed storage station at 7164 7th Ave, Tahoma.

    Under his leadership, North Tahoe Fire Protection District tested and promoted the first female Battalion Chief, Paramedic Sarah Lagano.

    Fire Chiefs: Duane Whitelaw, Peter Poe, Michael Schwartz

  • 2020’s: In March, 2020 the whole world experienced a never-seen-before phenomenon that brought every country to a standstill: COVID-19. As all human life stayed away from one another and were confined to their homes, they still experienced medical needs and fire scenarios. As essential personnel and medical first responders continued lifesaving procedures, they had to walk the fine line between new and ever-evolving CDC regulations and guidelines to protect themselves and the population from the unprecedented pandemic.

    As a tumultuous 2020 came to an end, so did Chief Schwartz’ career as Fire Chief with North Tahoe Fire Protection District. In early 2020 Chief Schwartz announced his intent to retire at the end of 2020 and promoted Operations Chief Steve Leighton to Assistant Fire Chief in September, 2020. In January, 2021 Assistant Fire Chief Leighton was appointed as Acting Fire Chief while Fire Chief Schwartz took leave, then was appointed as Fire Chief in April, 2021. During his tenure prior to being appointed to Fire Chief, Chief Leighton received his Certificate of Leadership, changed the numbering sequence of engines for clarification, started an ambulance rotation between stations to equalize the mileage, and changed the quiet time with radio traffic as well as added 100 feet of live line for ease of operation.

    Chief Leighton brought his experience to strengthen relationships with other fire districts and joined several fire chiefs associations including the Lake Tahoe Regional Fire Chiefs Association and the Fire Districts Association of California where he was elected as an at-large Board member with the Executive Board.

    Chief Leighton continues to aggressively pursue and receive Federal, State and local grant funds. The District has received $1.5M in grant award funds for fuels reduction, wellness and airbags, quick response vehicle with staffing, and the purchase of a chipper to assist with the District’s robust defensible space program. Under his direction the District applied for $8M in grant funds in early 2024 under the federal SAFER Grant for staffing, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant for apparatus and radios, and the Community Wildfire Defense Grant for a curtain burner, staff, tree removal service and chippers.

    Chief Leighton has continued the apparatus replacement plan that maintains a modern fleet of apparatus funded within the budget. The plan provides for a new ambulance every other year and a new engine every five years; new ambulances were placed in service at the end of 2022 and the summer of 2024. He also added four new snowmobiles and three e-bikes to aid in back country rescues to the District’s fleet through donations.

    In October, 2023 Alpine Springs County Water District (ASCWD) formally terminated the Fire Protection, Emergency Medical and Related Services agreement with North Tahoe Fire Protection District to be effective October, 2026. Chief Leighton, alongside staff, has vigorously engaged the ASCWD staff, Board and community members to come to a compromise that works for both entities to satisfy the needs of ASCWD but also be responsible to our own District. In December, 2024 a successful renegotiated contract was reached.

    In October, 2024 the final meeting to solidify the reorganization/consolidation of the Meeks Bay/North Tahoe Fire Protection Districts to be effective January, 2025, was held. The decision to reorganize was compelled by the need for enhanced service delivery and resource management in the face of increasing demands on fire protection and emergency medical services in the region. Since 2014, North Tahoe Fire Protection District has been providing services to the west shore area of Lake Tahoe through a shared services agreement with Meeks Bay Fire Protection District, which laid the foundation for the reorganization. The process for the reorganization involved multiple steps. Staff has navigated through meetings with Placer County and El Dorado County Boards of Supervisors as well as Placer County and El Dorado County Local Agency Formation Commissions (LAFCO). In early 2024, Chief Leighton tenaciously continued to meet with all entities to eventually get approval from both county Board of Supervisors and then eventually the final approval from Placer County LAFCO through a public hearing, a protest hearing and eventually their board meeting to reach the finish line.

    Fire Chiefs: Michael Schwartz, Stephen Leighton