CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (June 23, 2025) — Theresa Watkins is one of 11 women currently serving in the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, and in accepting the Kiwanis’ annual June Firefighter of the Year award, she surely will not be the last.

“It’s a peer selection and it is very well deserved,” said Chief Lewis Broschard of the Fire Engineer-Paramedic, being tabbed for the honor.

Watkin’s name was put forth by the Honor and Dignity Committee to the chiefs for their consideration.

“Theresa Watkins was awarded Firefighter of the Year for her outstanding leadership, dedication to service and exemplary contributions to the fire service community. Her peers describe her as a model firefighter whose professionalism, teamwork and passion for helping others set her apart,” according to a statement from Con Fire.

She joined CCCFPD in 2022 after beginning her fire service career as a Firefighter-EMT with Rodeo-Hercules Fire District on July 1, 2014. While rising to the rank of captain in her previous department, Watkins embraced the opportunity to start over as Firefighter-Paramedic, demonstrating “her humility and relentless drive to serve demonstrated her unwavering dedication to the department and her community,” stated district officials.

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The honor of top firefighter comes a year to the day when Watkins was promoted to her current position of Fire Engineer-Paramedic.

Fire officials also pointed to her personal journey, overcoming the challenges of homelessness in her youth, is an inspiration to all, “Her resilience, determination and commitment to making a difference are core to her work ethos.”

A defining moment that showcases Watkin’s extraordinary skills occurred during a critical call where she led a team in the successful resuscitation of a patient in cardiac arrest.

Her quick thinking, leadership and medical expertise saved the patient’s life, and the individual fully recovered with no neurological damage – an outcome that reflects her exceptional ability to perform under pressure, Con Fire officials stated.

Away from the job, Watkins is deeply involved in outreach efforts, including coaching youth, teaching at Cal Maritime and actively recruiting women and minorities into the fire service, which included committing her time to ConFire’s Girls Empowerment Camp.

Her peers also touted her strong advocate for mentorship and development, contributing to the growth of future firefighters through her involvement in physical fitness and EMS training programs.

“Theresa,” said Broschard, “is the consummate ideal that every fire chief would want. If I could clone her 100 times over, I would.”

The coming wildfire season is sure to test all that Watkins and her fellow firefighters will bring to the fight.

Con Fire Battalion Chief Tom Zurflueh noted the outlook is not for the fire season to be any longer. But that doesn’t mean it will be any less fraught with challenges, like increased temperatures now trending upwards.

“There is a higher probability of fires this year than in the past,” he said, citing the existence of flare up already being battled in the northern part of the state.

Wind is another factor Zurflueh acknowledged is rearing its head, which is the greatest contributor to the spread of fire. To that concern, he noted that when wind speeds reach 10 to 15 mph, topography no longer matters, they can push fire downhill as well as uphill.

Whereas down south, it’s the Santa Ana winds, locally the north winds are the Diablo.

So as the wildfire season gears up, he reminded everyone, especially on days when Red Flag Warnings are issues, to be mindful of the human factors that can ignite sparks – like driving, mowing the lawn or that seemingly innocent discarding of a cigarette.

ConFire Protection Captain Joe Ottolini, was pleased that the education efforts ahead of the current wildfire season is prompting “people to be more proactive.”

But there is still time to take steps that can head off potential disaster.

“We still have programs pushing residents to be more proactive in their defensive space,” he said.

He offered two recommendations residents can still do to help protect their homes. One is cutting all weeds and grass down to three inches or lower, and not just in the front and back of homes, but the side yards too.

“The fine fuels and grasses are susceptible to allowing fire to travel and build up rapidly,” he said.

Ottolini advised giving extra attention to the home, as a second area of concern. He encouraged cleaning out combustible materials in gutters and from roofs, as well as making deck repairs. And, at ground level, homeowners should walk around their residences to see where stacks of wood and other waste piles are present that might serve fuel beds for fire.

For more information, visit the community fuel risk reduction and wildfire mitigation resources sections at www.cccfpd.org