South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue holds pinning and promotion ceremony

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue welcomed four new firefighter paramedics to their family during a pinning ceremony at the airport Thursday. They also celebrated the promotion of Kevin Van Kirk to Engineer and honored retired Batalion Chief Tim Spencer.

"Fire service is really about family," said Chief Jeff Meston and he opened the ceremony. "This is a special day for South Lake Tahoe."

He explained how tough it is to get a new firefighter on board. There are tests, boards and interviews.

"South Lake Tahoe Fire Department gets to pick their own family," said Chief Meston of staff interviewing the new recruits. "We expect a lot from our firefighters since they serve the community."

New firefighter James Berthinier has lived in South Lake Tahoe for five years and was most recently a paramedic with the Cal Tahoe JPA. He was pinned by his grandfather Jim Berthinier who happened to be the fire chief who promoted SLTFR Chief Jeff Meston to rank of battalion chief on November 1, 1986.

Haven Wilvers, a South Lake Tahoe local who graduated in 2005 from South Tahoe High is also a new firefighter. He most recently had been on ski patrol at Mammoth Mountain during winters and USFS hotshot firefighter during summers.

Tom Jones is a new resident in South Lake Tahoe having come from Half Moon Bay. He had been working with Rural/Metro Ambulance in San Jose.

The other new firefighter paramedic on board is Jake Reginato. He grew up in Mt. Shasta and has lived in Colorado and Wyoming where he worked for Grand Teton Search & Rescue as a paramedic.

Tim Spencer retired from Reno Fire before coming to South Lake Tahoe as a Battalion Chief. He is now retired from SLT and is going to work for a private company that works in fire prevention on an international stage. While in South Lake Tahoe he help develop a strong battalion chief training program.

Two of the new firefighters graduated from the Lake Tahoe Community College Fire Academy.

Chief Meston thanked Lake Valley Fire and Tahoe Douglas Fire for covering the City during the ceremony.