South Lake Tahoe Fire Chief Jeff Meston hanging up his hat

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Fire Chief Jeff Meston is retiring from South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) on February 28, five years and five months after he came out of retirement to head up the department.

On Friday, February 1, Meston submitted his resignation to the City.

"When I was hired by CM (City Manager) Kerry I promised to spend between 3-5 years with the City Fire Department and bring them as far as I could to be a “world class” fire department," Meston said in his resignation letter.

He feels he's accomplished what he set out to do.

Meston told South Tahoe Now there are two main reasons for his retiring: His increasing job duties as president of the 925-member strong California Fire Chief's Association (CalChiefs) and their work statewide; and what he says is a lack of respect in South Lake Tahoe as the local fire expert.

The Chief started his year-long duties as president of CalChiefs in October, and once his term is over the duties of past-president will also keep him busy.
It's not just the activities at the CalChiefs office that are increasing, it's also the time they are spending in working at the legislative level. The CalChiefs are working on establishing their long-range plan and he is anxious to lay out their future.

"I can go to the state capitol and be treated with respect and the legislators are interested in what I have to say," said Meston. "I don't feel that here (in South Lake Tahoe)."

He said he was frustrated that local leaders were not taking his data and research seriously, especially after presenting the City Council with a complete Strategic Plan and Standards of Cover documents last year. In those presentations, Meston said the City needed to bring the closed Station #2 back into service to better protect the community, something that would require more funding.

"Last year under council direction, the FD completed the ”Standards of Cover Document“ and presented it to the City Council. Many projects within that document including a new communications system, replacement of a ladder truck, and seeking a grant to reopen fire station 2. Future success needs a new fire chief to plan, implement and evaluate those projects from commencement to a conclusion. We have worked hard to set up the organization for continued success, the time is right for a new fire chief for SLT," said Meston in his resignation letter.

In 1997 there were three fire stations, a staff of 38 people with 12 of them on duty every day. In that year they answered 1,721 fire and medical aid calls. In 2018, SLTFR had two stations open, a staff of 29 people and they answered 3,636 calls.

What Meston has asked for is to have Station 2 reopen which would require hiring three more captains, three more firefighters, and an engineer. He previously told Council the City could apply for a grant that would help offset some of the expense. Just for current full coverage of the City, he said they'd need to add two more staff members.

He said beefing up the fire department and getting Station 2 ready to reopen was a hot topic during the November election but he is disappointed there has been no further discussion on the topic.

"I brought forth factual data so they could make good, solid decisions," said Meston. "It seems like it's been forgotten and put on the burner for now. Chiefs are the experts in their areas for the community, it's frustrating they don't want to take that advice."

Meston says he worries all the time about the level of fire protection in South Lake Tahoe. "Everything is on the rise," he said of fires and emergencies. "I worry about that."

At the state level, CalFire has added 13 companies to bring their staffing numbers up to 1970 levels, back when fire departments up and down the state were fully funded and staffed.

"They get it," said Meston.

The third-generation firefighter has been working in fire departments since 1976 when he started as a volunteer with the Alameda County Fire Department. He then worked for the City of Madera for ten years, filling positions of firefighter, engineer, and captain along the way. Meston then headed to Novato as a battalion chief, moving on to division chief, assistant chief and then fire chief for seven years before retiring.

He worked through retirement though, first as the fire chief of Capstone, a private company in San Diego perhaps best known as a company contracted by PG&E for clearing brush from power lines. He then headed over to the Los Coyotes Band of Indians as their fire chief before retiring again and moving to Incline Village.

And then South Lake Tahoe beckoned.

"I've done this for a very long time," said Meston. "I felt very fortunate to come over and work with the dedicated men and women of the department. They've been up for the challenge and changes. We do a lot of work, spending time and effort."

He has spent many days and nights helping to protect South Lake Tahoe. The wet storms of 2017 found him at the airport command center for hours on end and he has slept countless nights sleeping in his office (as he'll be tonight during the blizzard).

Meston said he will continue to work on the protection of the Tahoe basin through improving the mutual aid system via his CalChiefs position.

When looking back at his time in South Lake Tahoe, Meston said his biggest accomplishment is getting the City out of the Cal Tahoe Joint Powers Authority (JPA) in 2015. He said being in the ambulance business was "a debilitating time for us."

"It altered our employee retention with the interfacility transfers," said Meston. "We got firefighters back on the fire engines. It was an interesting but successful time."

Even with getting out of the "ambulance business," Meston said 39 percent of their calls happen simultaneously, meaning two or more calls come in at the same time which is far above the average. This leaves the area without immediate coverage a lot of the time, leaving them to rely on neighboring fire departments.

Fire was part of Meston's life long before his first job as a firefighter. Meston's grandfather was with the Cleveland (Ohio) fire department and his dad was the first safety officer for the Oakland (Calif.) fire department and his uncle was that city's assistant fire chief.

Neither of his two adult children has followed into the family business. One son is an electrician and the other an anthropologist currently working in archeology.
He also has two grandchildren.

He may be retiring but March 1 he'll be in Sacramento for a CalChiefs finance meeting.

Meston would like to eventually travel to England, France, and Wales, but no vacations are planned for the immediate future.

"If I plan something I'd probably miss something with CalChiefs," he said.

He isn't ruling out going to work for someone else, though, but it isn't in his plans. Meston has done consulting for years, so he could also go back to doing that if he wanted to.

"Something might come up," he added.

He is also a history buff and may do something in that area. Back in Novato, he found an old State Farm Insurance building with engine bays inside, perfect for a firehouse museum. He donated extensive fire antiquities including a 1928 Model A Fire Chief's car and an old pumper. Upon his retirement, the city named the museum after him.

Thank you for your service to our community Chief Jeff Meston.