Visiting Firefighter Gets Welcome

Station 25 Welcoming personnel were:  Captain Patrick Kennedy, 1980s CV Fire Chief Bill Pedroni, Probationary Firefighter Andrew Burgess, (Mathis), Elizabeth Crocker (Mathis' mother), Captain Paul Mahar, Firefighter Erik Robertson, and Engineer Mark Bennett.

Castro Valley’s Station 25 with the Alameda Co. Fire Department had a visit from an out-of-state firefighter on August 31.  Lt. John Mathis of the Lawrence-Douglas Co. Fire Medical department of Lawrence, Kansas, was welcomed by the Castro Valley firefighters.  Mathis had requested an unofficial visit to compare notes on firefighting equipment.

The Lawrence fire department recently took delivery of a new “tiller truck,” otherwise known as a hook and ladder truck.  The Castro Valley station has considerable experience with the local tiller truck and hosted a discussion on the merits of the equipment.

The Kansas department has about 140 personnel, five stations, and fielded approximately 15,000 calls in 2021.  Lawrence, Kansas had a 2020 population of 94,900 and is the home of the University of Kansas.

The Castro Valley Fire Department was merged with the Alameda County Fire Department in 1993.