Firefighter of the Month

Editor's note: This is a monthly feature in cooperation with the island's fire departments, prepared by the Fire Department.

Full name: David Owen Howitt

Where were you born? St. Ives, Cornwall.

Familial status (married/kids/pets): Single, look after a chocolate lab named Sophie.

Name a favorite food/music/team/show etc.? Favorites are difficult. I like diverse foods from rice milk to fish & chips, music from the jazz bass of Jaco Pastorius to the flamenco guitar of Paco de Lucia, for teams - the Welsh Rugby team.

What kind of hobbies do you have? Being on or close to the ocean - hiking the coastal path, rowing to the other islands.

What is your day job? What is the most interesting job you've held? I have a business called Howitt's Helping Hand. This winter I repaired a racing trimaran. I'm currently working on a boat for Ken Balcomb, doing some electronics installations on the yellow trimaran 'Dolphin Spirit', and starting a few jobs with Robin Dyer (also a SJI firefighter) at the boat repair company Granville Marine. The most interesting job for me was working for an orca research lab in Johnstone Strait, utilizing technology to film and record the sound of the orca whales from a network of remotely controlled stations

What brought you to SJI? In 2000 I was driving a bus carrying the world's longest banner made by kids to the San Juan County Fair - Free Corky (a northern resident orca). I stayed on to help my friend Ben White build a new house after he lost his house to a fire.

What area do you live in? At the southeast foot of Cady Mountain.

What do you like about living on SJI? Sunsets and sunrises on the southwest side of the island.

What comes to mind when you hear "Only on SJI..."? Stopping one's car in the middle of the street to talk to someone.

What is your position/job within the department? Wildland and structural firefighter.

When and why did you join the fire department? I joined in 2005 after I read a newspaper article stating that they were low on people, particularly on the West side where I was living. I figured I had the right aptitude, some skills and was keen to learn. I really liked the training and haven't been able to stop.

What do you like best about the department? Commitment from everyone to work together to accomplish sometimes difficult tasks to help people when they most need help.

What has been your most exciting event since joining the department? It has been helping prevent my friend Julie's business from burning to the ground. Excited is not the right word there - I was pleased to have been able to do that. Excitement - training is exciting - North Bend props - there's excitement in the accomplishment of challenging tasks.

What did you find the hardest firefighter skill to learn? Perhaps the amount of cramming involved in memorizing the hazardous materials text book.

Do you have other volunteer activities? I help with maintaining a hydrophone array at Lime Kiln Lighthouse and sometimes with necropsies of marine mammals.

Describe your ideal day off: I like to go hiking and explore new hidden places on the island.

What are you most proud of? Just being able to respond as a competent firefighter and constantly developing and improving skills.

What would you like on your epitaph? It's fun to help others enjoy a beautiful world.