Meet Your Volunteer Firefighter

Ron Garner is this month’s Meet Your Volunteer Firefighter – Contributed photo

Here’s Sheila Harley with this month’s spotlight…

Ron Garner has been volunteering on San Juan Island since 1984.

In the early years he and his late wife served with the National Historical Park as interpretive rangers. Ron taught junior high school in Ohio so they came out during summer vacations to work. In 1996 they settled here and he volunteered at English camp where he now is involved with the yearly encampments demonstrating blacksmithing, woodworking or pioneer life. He also marches with the National Park Service color guard.

Ron volunteers for The American Red Cross as a photographer and is the liaison between The American Red Cross and San Juan Island Fire Rescue. He also volunteers at the Life Care Center helping residents with their genealogies and is helping them run a garden model railroad. He has also volunteered at the library and with 4H.

Starting in 1985 Ron was a volunteer with the Town of Friday Harbor Fire Department as structural firefighter and PIO/photographer. Then in 1996 he joined San Juan Island Fire Rescue.

In 2006 he became head of the FireWise Program and brought it from four participating neighborhoods to forty- five neighborhoods including neighborhoods on Orcas Island, Lopez, Decatur, Johns, Pearl and Stuart islands. Ron was awarded one the the top awards in the nation for his service. Neighborhoods are definitely encouraged to join this program.

Ron still participates with FireWise but has handed leadership of the program to another San Juan Island Firefighter. He also is the crew chief for the Logistics team that provides meals for fire fighters when they are fighting fires. He also continues as photographer.

Ron’s newest project for San Juan Island Fire Rescue is the Major Emergency Response Team (MERT) program. When he was a volunteer for The American Red Cross after Katrina, he noticed that many of the victims went to their local fire stations for information but they weren’t being staffed as the firefighters were out helping others. Knowing that would happen here, he worked on getting a program established under the auspices of the San Juan Island Fire Rescue. He wrote a manual, recruited volunteers from each of the six geographical fire station areas, and held classes instructing what to do in case the Major Emergency Response Team is needed in his/her area. The Team will gather information and be a communication source for neighbors and first responders alike. New Volunteers for MERT are always welcome. Now, during a major emergency, local residents can receive information at their local fire station.

As you can see, Ron is a volunteer with a flare for helping out in many different ways. San Juan Island Fire Rescue in indeed fortunate to have him!

San Juan Island Fire Rescue welcomes all interested men and women to drop by the station on Mullis Street and make an appointment to attend a drill on Monday nights to see what we are all about. Our phone # is 360-378-5334.

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