Five New Menlo Park Fire District Firefighter Paramedic’s start at the County Fire Academy

PRESS RELEASE – October 13, 2017

In the last year, the Menlo Park Fire Protection District has been training up to 20 probationary Firefighters to fill vacancies and grow the number of response units and staffing. Almost all of those probationary personnel have almost completed and passed the grueling yearlong training and testing process as five more new Firefighter Paramedics will start the process in December after a 16 week joint County Fire Academy.
 

The five new Firefighter Paramedics were carefully selected from a group of 500 applicants after written exams, several interviews, a back ground screening that included a polygraph and psychological evaluation, physical testing and a medical evaluation. These five will be joined by six additional personnel that will start the Fire Academy in the Spring of 2018.
 

Chief Schapelhouman said “in a period of just under three years, we will be replacing or growing one third of our 93 firefighting personnel. Training goes on daily and we try and balance this amazing infusion of excitement and enthusiasm with the tempered wisdom and patience of experienced senior personnel amid explosive growth and incredible change within our Fire District.”
 

The Fire District provides essential Fire and Emergency Services to its areas in the Town of Atherton, Cities of East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Unincorporated County Areas like North Fair Oaks and on contract to the SLAC National Accelerator and Laboratories.
 

Firefighter Paramedics in the photograph from left to right:

  • Paul Kaufman - Has a Bachelor’s in Political Science from UCLA. Most recently, he worked for Sonoma Life Support (AMR) as a Paramedic.  For the past 2.5 years he has been an Apprentice Firefighter for Windsor Protection District.  He was an Explorer for Bennett Valley Fire District from 2006-2009 and then an Intern Firefighter from 2009-2011.

  • Matthew Falvey – He was one of our 2016 College Cadets. For the last 6 years he has worked a RRT-NPS at Mercy Hospital of Folsom and Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento.

  • David Magnan -  Has a Bachelor’s in Exercise Biology with a minor in Nutrition from UC Davis and a Master’s in Public Health from USC. He has spent the last year working for Rural Metro in San Diego as a Paramedic. For the last 3 years he was a part-time EMT for San Marcos Fire Department.  He also spent a year as a Probationary Volunteer Firefighter with Stevens Creek Volunteer Fire Department.

  • Michael Wegener - Has 11 years of Firefighting experience and has spent the past 5 years working as a Firefighter for the Auburn Fire Department.  Prior to that, he spent 6 years working for Cal Fire.

  • Philip Mingus Jr. -  He worked in Nuclear Cardiology Imaging across the Bay in Hayward. For the last year, he was a cadet for San Bruno Fire Department and worked a year as an on call Firefighter for Payette City Fire Department back in 2005.

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