Two firefighters at the Los Alamos Fire Department were promoted Sept. 12. Ramon Garcia was promoted from captain to division chief of the newly formed wildland division and J. Wayne Sanchez was promoted Sept. 12 from driver engineer to captain.

Garcia will work closely with County Open Space Specialist Craig Martin over the next year before Martin’s scheduled retirement. Martin is credited with knowing more about the trails and canyons around Los Alamos and White Rock than most anyone else. He will share that knowledge with Garcia in the coming months to provide LAFD with important information that will assist in mitigating wildland fires in the area.

“I think the wildland division needs a lot of focus, we’ve had two big wildland fires in my time – the Cerro Grande and the Las Conchas – and that doesn’t mean we are out of the woods,” Garcia said. “We’ve got areas that need mitigating and protecting and by protecting I mean citizens’ property and LANL. I think by creating this division we will have a better plan in place for any future situations … I also think this is a great opportunity for me … a chance to leave a legacy because 50 to 100 years down the road all the trees are going to grow again and we’ll be in the same spot we were in when Cerro Grande hit and when Las Conchas hit and through this division we’ll be better prepared.”

Garcia grew up in the foothills of the Gila National Forest in Silver City within a large family that includes his parents, three brothers and two sisters. He was introduced to firefighting in 1991 while attending New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. He joined the NMSU Fire Department and promoted up to the rank of driver engineer. He graduated from NMSU with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education and taught and coached in the public school system for four years in Northern New Mexico before joining LAFD in August 1997. 

Garcia describes the Cerro Grande Fire as the most difficult fire he ever fought because of the treacherous winds. He received a Medal of Valor for his heroic actions during that fire and a Medal of Service Award for his actions during the Las Conchas Fire.

“Because of our location, we need a continued plan and implementation of risk reduction efforts of fire suppression and fuel hazard mitigation to provide future safety of our property, citizens, the laboratory and our visitors,” Garcia said. “I have the greatest career in the world. I truly enjoy this organization and the people I work with and all the while getting the opportunity to help people.”

Garcia lives in Pojoaque with his wife Kathleen and their sons James and Andrew. The family stays busy with basketball, baseball and soccer and also enjoy boating, camping, biking and hunting.

Sanchez has been in the fire service for 18 years, starting with Bernalillo County before spending nearly the next 17 years with LAFD, he said.

“I’m excited and nervous; it’s a new role for me,” Sanchez said. “I know the department has new directions it wants to go and I’m excited to be part of that mission and to use my years of experience to help the department reach its goals.”

Sanchez has commuted from Albuquerque to Los Alamos during all the years he has worked for LAFD. He explained that in his spare time he enjoys gardening and hunting and recently earned his scuba diving certification.

Fire Chief Troy Hughes spoke of the recent promotions of Garcia and Sanchez.

“We are real excited to have both of these individuals in advanced positions here at the department and to develop our fire protection plans within our new wildland division,” Hughes said.

LAFD is the second largest career fire department in the state of New Mexico. The department provides a multi-disciplined, multi-dimensional mission of fire, rescue, emergency medical, public education and life safety services to the citizens and visitors of Los Alamos County.

Included in the services LAFD provides are the protection of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, protection of the communities of Los Alamos and White Rock and assistance in the provision of emergency response for an extensive urban wildland interface.

LAFD was organized under the Manhattan Project in April 1943. At that time it consisted of seven civilian firefighters and 25 volunteer firefighters. In September 1943, the firefighter functions were taken over by the military.  The Fire Department was governed by the US Atomic Energy Commission and the US Department of Energy (DOE) until the Incorporated County of Los Alamos took it over in September 1989.

Today, LAFD operates six fire stations with 150 budgeted positions, 130 shift firefighters including three shift battalion chiefs, nine chief and staff officers assigned to days and 11 civilian support staff.