Tubbs Fire survivor finds a path to a firefighting career through community colleges
Lupe Duran lost his dog and his home in the catastrophic Tubbs Fire. But amid the death and destruction that rained down on his hometown of Santa Rosa, he found a sense of community and a calling: “I want to be on an engine, fighting fire,” he says.
After the fire, Duran enrolled in and completed College of Marin’s FIRE Foundry program and received his EMT certification from that school, allowing him to get a jump on a firefighting career. He then graduated from the Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) Fire Academy in December and received his associate degree in fire science there, and has since accepted a job as a part-time inspector with the Petaluma Fire Department. He still needs to obtain his paramedic’s certificate, a necessity for him to achieve his goal of serving his community as a life-saving firefighter.
Duran, 30, was taking welding courses at a community college in 2017 when the Tubbs Fire exploded through the city, killing 22 people and destroying more than 6,000 homes. He’d been living with his father in a duplex adjacent to the Coffey Park neighborhood, which suffered the worst of the fatal firestorm. Duran had gone to pick up his girlfriend from her job in Rohnert Park, and the two of them had pulled off U.S.Highway 101 to enjoy the warm evening breeze at Taylor Mountain Regional park when they noticed an orange glow emanating from the hills. When he found out the scorching had begun, Duran called his father and his sisters to make sure they were okay.
“By the time I got home, the fire had already moved downhill, and there was no getting back in,” Duran says. “The fire had taken everything out,” including the duplex where Duran lived with his father and one of his sisters. “It moved very quickly, and we basically had nothing. I was not even able to get my dog.”
In the days that followed, Duran says he was struck by what he saw in others who— like him—were stranded in evacuation centers, having lost most if not all of their material history, but who still pulled themselves together to help their fellow fire victims.
“Seeing people in the same situation as me, seeing the community come together, seeing people bring stuff to the shelter—underwear, toothpaste, the basic necessities—it was very inspirational to me,” Duran says. “I’d never before felt a sense of community.”
Duran started volunteering himself, helping the stranded navigate the processes of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. What he really wanted to do was face off with the fire firsthand, but he knew he didn’t have the qualifications to rush to the front lines. In the smoke and the haze, however, Duran found direction.
He dropped out of the welding program and found work doing fuel reduction around private homes. He enrolled in fire science classes at SRJC. In 2022, he discovered the FIRE Foundry Program operated by the College of Marin in conjunction with the Marin County Fire Department, Conservation Corps North Bay, the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority and the Marin Professional Firefighters union. One of the foundry’s aims, he learned, was to diversify the firefighting workforces in the region.
The FIRE Foundry Program and other community college efforts to train students for fire science careers are aligned with the California Community College Chancellor’s Office’s Vision 2030, a strategic action plan aimed at addressing climate resiliency and other global issues, increasing equity and access to education and providing better economic opportunities.
The program put Duran into the field as a seasonal employee with the Marin County Fire Department and paid him good money to chop trees, thin brush and yank out Scotch broom and other invasive species with his hands. On the rural-urban interface, he educated the public on how to reduce fire danger. He took EMT classes at the College of Marin, paid for by the FIRE Foundry. He tested fire prevention products at the Berkeley Disaster Lab. He interned at PG&E’s Berkeley Climate Conference and helped his team win first place in a wildfire suitability model. The academy followed, and it led to his current job with the Petaluma FD.
Daniel Bull, SRJC Fire Academy coordinator, says Duran distinguished himself as a squad leader at the academy: “His squad was very detailed and performed well under his leadership. He made sure their needs were met and that they did what had to be done to be prepared.”
Bull says that several of the academy’s students have been inspired to public service careers because of their personal experiences in the Tubbs Fire and other disasters. “We have two or three here right now who lost their homes in Coffey Park, similar to Lupe.”
Bull notes the academy is well-respected in the industry: “Fire departments and organizations know our graduates are well trained and have a strong foundation as they begin their careers.”
Next up for Duran: paramedic training, and then a job on a fire engine, hopefully in Santa Rosa.
“I’ve got my foot in the door,” Duran says.
“Seeing people in the same situation as me, seeing the community come together, seeing people bring stuff to the shelter—underwear, toothpaste, the basic necessities—it was very inspirational to me. I’d never before felt a sense of community.”
Lupe Duran, FIRE Foundry/SRJC Fire Academy Graduate, Future Firefighter
For more information about the College of Marin’s FIRE Foundry Program and Santa Rosa Junior College’s Fire Academy, visit www.firefoundry.org or pstc.santarosa.edu/firefighter-academy. To learn more about the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and Vision 2030, go to www.cccco.edu.
Written by Andy Furillo
| Regions | Classes & Topics |
|---|---|
| Bay Area California | Climate Resiliency |
