Stockton firefighters humble in the face of praise

STOCKTON - Little ceremony or pomp was displayed during a visit by U.S. Rep. Jerry McNerney to the Stockton Fire Department early Saturday morning.
Arriving around 7:30 a.m., shortly before a shift change at Fire Station 4, at Pacific Avenue and Robinhood Drive, McNerney praised the Fire Department’s performance in fighting last week’s Quail Lakes fire.

“The training that you guys had paid off,” McNerney, D-Pleasanton, said to the firefighters mustered in the station’s equipment bay. “This is the best we could expect.”
Fire Capt. Felipe Rodriguez, who was with Engine 4 at the Sunpointe Condominiums during last week’s fire, appreciated McNerney’s gesture.
“That was very nice of him to come out and talk to us. And to thank us for what we normally do as part of our jobs,” Rodriguez said.

For limiting the fire’s spread, Rodriguez credited the quick-thinking and leadership of the first supervisors on the scene - Captains Travis Winton, Chris Wright and Dan Morriss and Battalion Chiefs Robert Tuitavuki and Lane Healy. But not himself - Rodriguez was not working in a supervisory role during the fire, he clarified.

“That direction proved to make the difference,” Rodriguez said. “It’s unfortunate that a few of the homes were lost, but the effort put together contributed to the neighborhood being saved.”

West Coast 911 firefighter news source - The Record in Stockton /read entire article written by Christian Burkin