Lake Valley Fire promotes and hires seven, welcomes Chief Alameda

It wasn't your normal badge ceremony and pinning at Lake Valley Fire District firehouse in Meyers, a celebration of a new hire or new promotion. This time, it was historic, a ceremony that saw not only new new hires, but the promotion at all ranks in the department, including a new Fire Chief.

Over 70 friends, family and community members joined in the celebration of new Apprentice Firefighter/Paramedic Andrew Carey, Firefighter/Paramedic Christian Anton, and promotions of Engineers Martin Goldberg and Brian Pierce, Captain Nathan Hagenbach, Battalion Chief Ronald Sitton and Fire Chief Tim Alameda.

The badge ceremony and pinning is a firehouse tradition going back centuries. Each firefighter will have their badge officially pinned by a family member or someone significant in that firefighter’s life.

“Lake Valley is a much respected Fire District, I am ready to step in and work with our staff and our board and support our mission,” said newly hired Fire Chief Alameda.

The badge pinning ceremony was conducted as a special board meeting administered by Lake Valley Fire Protection District Chairman Bob Bettencourt.

“We have a dedicated group of hard working firefighters, and have made some significant leadership changes that will allow us to meet our objectives and better serve our community,” Chairman Bettencourt said.

Chief Alameda,who officially started as chief on October 3, has come full circle in his career after graduating from South Tahoe High in 1977. He took his first fire science class from Bettencourt at the same Lake Valley Fire station where the pinning ceremony was held before being hired to be on a fire hand crew by the current LVFPD board president. He then moved onto being a reserve firefighter for the Lake Valley and South Lake Tahoe departments.

In 1980, Alameda was hired by Reno as a firefighter, a department he worked for before retiring in 2011. He then moved over to North Tahoe Fire where he was promoted to Fire Marshall, and taking on the Meeks Fire Department before coming back to the south shore.

"I was just a kid from Meyers and the next thing you know i'm running into high rise fires in Reno," Alameda said of his being hired in Reno.

A graduate of Truckee Meadows Community College and the University of Nevada Reno, Alameda married his high school sweetheart from South Tahoe High, Lisa who he met while they were both working at the SLT recreation center.

Their daughters also graduated from UNR. One of their daughter's fiancee, currently a UNR student, served 13 years in Afghanistan and was greeted by an ovation during the LVFPD ceremony.

Lisa and Tim have a small ranch in Sparks where their two horses, five dogs and birds also call home. They're looking for another home on the South Shore, but will keep the ranch in Sparks to house their "small zoo" said Tim.

Tim isn't the only chief from the Reno area currently on the South Shore. Scott Baker is the new chief at Tahoe Douglas Fire, and Tim Spencer is a new battalion chief for SLT Fire Rescue. Both of them are friends of Alameda, as are Chief Jeff Meston and the other chiefs around the lake.

Many of them were at the badge and pinning ceremony along with retired chiefs and El Dorado County Supervisor Sue Novasel.

Alameda said he was very appreciative of being part of LVFPD again.

"I think the world of this agency," said Alameda. "They can drive anything, they can fix anything, they work hard to get the job done. The foundation here is a good solid foundation of good fire fighters that haves good values."

Fomer LVFPD Fire Chief Jeff Michael, who has been working as interim chief during the search for someone to fill the vacant job, will stay on until October 19 to aid in the transition.

Picture: Back row from left to right: Fire Chief Jeff Michael, Fire Chief Tim Alameda, Battalion Chief Ron Sitton, Board Members Bob Rossi, John Rice, Bob Bettencourt, Captain Nathan Hagenbach, Engineer Martin Goldberg, Engineer Brian Pierce, Apprentice Firefighter/ Paramedic Andrew Carey and in the front row
Firefighter/Paramedic Christian Anton.