From left are Taylor Haven, Cordova Community Council; Pam Garcia, Rancho Chamber of Commerce; “Flare,” Sac Metro Fire’s Mascot (April West); and JR Sterba, Cordova Community Council.

RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - Fire Chief Adam House had a lot to say about the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District at the Rancho Cordova Luncheon on May 17. 

“I’m proud to say I’m from Rancho Cordova and it’s a unique and a humbling experience for me to say I’m the fire chief of where I grew up,” House said. “Kind of a childhood dream.” 

House graduated from Cordova High School in 1987. Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper and Sacramento City Police Chief Katherine Lester also attended Cordova High.

“I’m being told, by some people in Rancho Cordova, that having the police chief, the sheriff and the fire chief all having gone to the same high school may be the first time ever in the nation,” House said.

House has been fire chief for nearly a year.

“What did the Fire Department do in 1986?” House asked. “. . . We responded to fires, we did fire prevention, and we dabbled in EMS . . . We really started looking at advanced life support, started hiring paramedics early on in Sacramento. But we didn’t envision what we’re doing today . . . Now every one of our units, every time we respond, we have advanced life support working away . . . We have three helicopters that respond . . . we can respond to any call from disasters to people stuck in tunnels, or off high elevated platforms.  We have a Type I Hazmat Team.  If you bring a cake mix, we can tell you if it’s Betty Crocker or Pillsbury. We have our own on-board lab, something we thought we’d never see in the fire service.”

House introduced Battalion Chief Scott Perryman: “He’s been recognized this year as Innovator of the Year for the unique challenges that we face in today’s fire service. We’re looking outside the box.”

House turned the microphone over to Perryman who presented a Power Point report concerning Mobile Integrated Health or MIH.  Perryman described some of the emergency-medical services history. Emergency medicine became official in 1975; before then, there was no recognized emergency physician when going to the hospital for an emergency

“In Sacramento County over the last 20 years, we’ve seen a 67% increase in 9-1-1 calls over that time and only a 9% increase in population size,” Perryman said. “So the supply and demand is just not meeting up.”

House has been in public service for 36 years, including four years plus in the United States Army. In his fire department service, most of it with Metro Fire, House ascended the ranks from firefighter to captain, battalion chief and assistant chief. House was instrumental in establishing the Metro Fire Special Operations Division Type 1 Hazardous Materials Program and was the initial program manager.

Rancho Cordova Police Chief Matthew Tamayo, who attended the luncheon, said that the Police and Fire departments are obviously public safety partners first and foremost. 

“We work together many times a day,” Tamayo said. “There have probably been 10 calls today where we’ve been somewhere together.  So it’s a great partnership, invaluable partnership I would say.”

House concluded his remarks at Rancho Cordova City Hall saying, “I think that everybody would recognize this isn’t a typical fire service . . . We’re all looking at how we can always be better, strive to be better.”

Early in his career, House met Colin Powell who served the U.S. as National Security Advisor, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State. Powell’s message was that to be an effective leader, you have to take two steps.

House quoted Powell as saying: “The first is, you have to show up. What I really mean is, you have to be present. The second was that you have to care and that is shown by taking care of people’s needs.”

“So I ask today in this room,” House said, “when we find ourselves out in our community, is it showing up or being present?  I think what I see in Rancho Cordova is, people show up and they are present . . . and looking at the room today, you’re here because you care.”

Editor’s note: Watch for a future story presenting details of the challenges Metro Fire is facing and why the district is considered to be leading the nation in many ways.

 In back from left are Battalion Chief Parker Wilbourn, Assistant Chief Jon Rudnicki, Fire Chief Adam House, Assistant Chief Kiley Keeley, Battalion Chief Scott Perryman, and Government Affairs director Kyle MacDonald.  In front is Metro Fire Mascot Flare, (April West).