Turlock Fire Department picks 2nd-generation operations chief

The Turlock Fire Department saluted the return of its operations chief position and the selection of a second-generation chief officer for the post at a family-centered Fire Station No. 1 ceremony.

Operations Chief Gary Carlson formally took the radio call sign “Chief 2” in a badge-pinning ceremony at the station Friday. In keeping with the department’s tradition of having the wife pin on the badge, fiancée Gina Keeney attached Carlson’s new badge.

Carlson joined the department in 1997, was promoted to captain in 2005 and to battalion chief in 2009. In remarks afterward, Carlson thanked his shift for “basically running themselves” the past year while he helped keep the department rolling between fire chiefs.

Fire Chief Bob Talloni took the reins in December, three months after Chief Tim Lohman retired.

The return of the operations position, cut during the recession, showed city commitment to the department, Talloni said. “The essence of a leader’s mission is not to act in accordance with a job description, but to lead, guide, correct and encourage the firefighters he works with,” he said. “Chief Carlson is that leader.”

Talloni told the small crowd of dignitaries, firefighters and Carlson family members in the station’s engine bay that Carlson had been his right-hand man in his first six months. “Chief Carlson goes that extra mile every time,” he said.

Carlson hails from a family long active in the fire service, including his father, retired Turlock fire Chief Bob Carlson, who said he spent about a decade in the Chief 2 seat. Bob Carlson capped a 30-year career with the department as chief from 1991-96. Ticking off other family members in fire careers, he said the family has roughly 100 years of fire service between them.

“It’s a big change, going from shift work to an 8-to-5. It’s a life-changer. But he’s ready to do it,” Bob Carlson said, adding the move to administration means “you leave the best position in the fire department – firefighter.”

This story was originally published June 10, 2016 at 8:21 PM with the headline "Turlock Fire Department picks 2nd-generation operations chief."