Senior sociology major Daniel Chacon isn’t just a Biola student trying to graduate. He is also a seasoned wildland firefighter.

For the fourth year in a row, Chacon has donned fire gear and worked for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, also known as CAL FIRE.

Based on an engine and stationed at the Monterey County Beaverdam Station, Chacon is part of a crew that responds to all kinds of emergencies from traffic accidents and medical emergencies to wildfires.

CAL FIRE firefighters are employed until the fire season ends each year, a day that could come as early as September or as late as January, according to Chacon. Usually, he stops working in time to be present when classes start at the end of August. This year, however, Chacon decided to take a semester off and stay with the force to earn more money for school.

Firefighting is a major part of the Chacon family. His father is a division chief in Fresno County with CAL FIRE. Chacon began his own firefighting career while still in high school as he attended Fire Academy and went to EMT school before earning his high school diploma.

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection website, there are more than 5,600 wildland fires every year that burn over 172,000 acres across the state. CAL FIRE crews also respond to over 300,000 other emergencies annually.
CAL FIRE’s mission statement is simple and direct in its goals. “The men and women of CAL FIRE are dedicated to the fire protection and stewardship of over 31 million acres of California’s privately-owned wildlands.”

Chacon was not part of the firefighting efforts during the Station Fire that recently occurred north of Los Angeles, but has been involved in fighting some of the larger fires that have been in Santa Barbara in the past. Most recently, Chacon was out on a fire two weeks ago.

As a firefighter, Chacon lives an intense and often chaotic schedule of three consecutive 24 hour shifts and four days off. However, when a fire catches they can be called out to combat the blaze for as long as necessary.
“Last summer I worked 27 days straight,” Chacon said.

A typical day at the station includes physical therapy, workouts, maintenance and clean-up around the station, training exercises, community projects, prevention programs, and more training.

Chacon prefers to fight smaller fires because he gets to see more action and actually gets to be part of the action taken against the fire more. “On bigger fires we actually see less action because they use more helicopters and airplanes to drop retardant on the fire,” Chacon said.

Chacon plans to return to Biola next spring to finish classes and graduate. After graduation he sees himself continuing with a career in fire service and would like to get a position with a city fire station, attend paramedic school and participate in some form of mission work.

“It is a great job and definitely a mission field.” Chacon said. “I rarely come across Christians and there is definitely a need for Christ.”