Seven retire from Contra Costa Fire District

In March, the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District bid farewell to seven retiring workers who all made important contributions to the department.

Those retiring included fire prevention Capt. Lisa Martinez, a Concord resident who’s been with the district for 18+ years, and two firefighters from Concord station 22: Capt. Gary Hern and Capt. Claudio Revives, both with almost 30 years of service.

The others were engineer Frank Penaloza and Capt. Vince Wells of Walnut Creek station 7, Capt. Chris Christiansen of Pittsburg station 85 and fire inspector Johnny Young.

Steve Hill, public information officer for the department, said the firefighters will have an impact on future generations.

“Their knowledge and experience helped teach, train and tutor countless recruits and several of the men and women who will be active members of the department for decades to come,” he said.

“These men worked tirelessly, giving their time, talent and treasure to the citizens of Contra Costa County to help create calm from chaos at hundreds of fire incidents, thousands of calls for medical aid and numerous rescues,” Hill added.