How Mendocino College is Building the Firefighting Pipeline for the Future
When people think of a firefighter, they often picture someone rushing into danger, battling flames head-on. But as Chris Dewey can attest, the role has evolved far beyond that.
A former police chief turned educator, Dewey now serves as Public Safety Coordinator at Mendocino College, where he’s helping build the next generation of firefighters in the region. Over the years, he’s seen fire departments that once relied on volunteer or seasonal crews face an urgent need for trained, year-round firefighters.
“With sprinklers, building codes, and better fire prevention, fires themselves are less common,” says Dewey. “But the reliance on fire departments to respond to everything else – traffic accidents, heart attacks, rescues, crime scenes – has grown tremendously. They’re truly first responders.”
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