Meet Your Volunteer Firefighter

Mike MacLellan is this month’s Volunteer Firefighter – Sheila Harley photo

Sheila Harley reports on this month’s Volunteer Firefighter…

If you ask any little boy what he wants to be when he grows up, many times the answer will be, “I want to be a firefighter when I grow up!” As far back as Mike MacLellan remembers, he has always wanted to be a firefighter.

When he lived in Folsom, California, one had to go to school to be a paid firefighter, which did not fit Mike’s lifestyle at the time. When he came back to the Island, after being away for some twenty years, Vern Long, then the town of Friday Harbor’s Fire Chief, asked Mike to volunteer and Mike jumped at the chance. He was with the Town of Friday Harbor Fire Dept. for three years, transferring to San Juan Island Fire Rescue at its inception in 2006.

Mike founded and works at MJM Home Services. He is a licensed contractor and can turn his hand to almost any job that needs doing. His wife, Elizabeth, is a member of SJIFR’s Logistics team. They have two dogs.

Volunteering is Mike’s joy. He loves helping people.

He volunteers at the Animal Shelter where he built a kitty camp for their cats. He helped refloor the stage at The San Juan Community Theatre, has helped with the Festival of Trees, and was an actor in their production of “The Sound of Music” a few years back. He has helped out with Homes for Islanders, helped build the Thrift Shop’s new building. Mike says, “I’m addicted to volunteering!” He has taken the Ladder truck to help celebrate children’s birthdays, helps at the SJIFR’s Easter Egg Hunt, and at the Elementary School during Safety Week. In his spare time, he loves mountain biking, fishing, and off-roading.

San Juan Island Fire Rescue welcomes all interested men and women, ages 16 years of age and over to drop by the Mullis Street station and make an appointment to see what we are all about. Or, look online at www.sjifire.org for lots of good information. Our phone number is 360-378-5334. (As a matter of fact, Assistant Chief and Training Officer, Brad Creesy, needs only a few more applicants to begin a new class.) Very shortly this season’s new recruits will graduate and join the ranks. Maybe this is YOUR time to join us as a firefighter.

Sheila Harley
Public Information Officer
San Juan Island Fire Rescue

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