LUCERNE, Calif. – As fire season gets under way, Northshore Fire on Tuesday welcomed its four newest firefighters, young men starting their career with the vast fire district.

In the Tuesday afternoon’s ceremony, as district board members, staff and family members looked on, Chief Mike Ciancio presented badges to firefighter/paramedics Brett Hughes and Tylor Rial, and firefighter/EMTs Owen Lawler and Alex Miller.

Ciancio said the four new firefighters, at the start of their careers, have been with the district for about four months.

With their hires, the district – one of the largest in the state based on size, at 357 square miles – is now at full staffing, Ciancio said.

That staffing includes 19 full-time firefighters, three chief officers, two office staff, about a dozen volunteers, a 14-member support team and five-member Northshore Dive Team, he said.

Ciancio told the group that gathered at the Lucerne headquarters on Tuesday that the ceremony was part of a new swearing-in tradition.

For some of the new staff, firefighting is a family tradition.

That’s the case for Lawler, who started as a fire explorer. His father is a Cal Fire employee currently assigned to the Sand fire in neighboring Yolo County.

Rial also has a family fire background. His father, a soon-to-retire Oakland firefighter, was on hand for the ceremony.

Before administering the oath, Ciancio read the district’s mission statement.

It says: “The mission of the Northshore Fire Protection District is to protect lives, the environment, and property by providing prompt, skillful, and cost effective fire protection and life safety services.”

Ciancio said he believes that statement sums up what citizens expect of the district.

He then led the four firefighters through their oath, which was followed by their family members coming forward to pin on their new badges.

Community members interested in volunteering or otherwise helping the district can call the Lucerne’s headquarters office at 707-274-3100.

More information about the district is available at https://www.northshorefpd.com/ .

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