Many things have changed in Felton in the past 20 years, but on Tuesday, April 26 members of the Felton Fire Protection District celebrated one that has not: their chief, Ron Rickabaugh.
Rickabaugh, 52, who has been a member of the Felton Fire team since August 1981, said that he arrived Tuesday night for a training drill and instead found a surprise party waiting for him.
Since taking the reins from Don Ramos in April 1991, Rickabaugh said, he has committed himself to taking care of the people of Felton.
“I’ve loved it,” Rickabaugh said. “It’s been a great job.”
One of the accomplishments he’s most proud of during his time as chief is the district’s training in large-animal rescue techniques. Felton Fire brainstormed animal rescue procedures in the late 1990s after a horse died after falling from a trail in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, because rescuers were unable to move it in time.
Since then, Rickabaugh said, district crews have saved many cows, pigs, large dogs and other horses.
“It’s evolved to the point that Felton Fire is a pioneer in large-animal rescues,” he said.
During his tenure as fire chief, Rickabaugh has responded to thousands of emergencies — from winter storms to forest fires and traffic accidents, “some where everyone was fine, to others with tragic consequences.”
“He’s a rare commodity,” said Jeff Maxwell, former chief of the Zayante Fire Protection District and a longtime colleague of Rickabaugh.
Maxwell, now Central Fire Protection District chief, described Rickabaugh as a hands-on leader who has never been content to sit back and stay away from the action.
“He’s a working chief, and I say that with a lot of respect,” Maxwell said.
Several members of Rickabaugh’s team at Felton Fire echoed Maxwell’s sentiments.
“I’ve never met anyone quite like him,” engineer Bob Gray said. “He doesn’t micromanage, but he’s always got a plan.
“When he asks you to do something, you want to do it. The fire squad as a whole really respects him.”
Gray, who’s known Rickabaugh more than 15 years, lauded the chief’s levelheaded work ethic and “uncanny ability to show up right when you need help.”
“A lot of times, we’ll go out on a call in the middle of the night, and there he’ll be, waiting for us there in his own car,” Gray said.
“I wouldn’t (volunteer for Felton Fire) if he weren’t such a good leader,” engineer Audrey Dawson said. “I can’t imagine doing this without that solid leadership.”
Dawson, a volunteer firefighter since 2003, said Rickabaugh makes a point of letting his team know that “we’re not alone; he’ll back us up.”
“He never asks anyone to do something he wouldn’t do himself,” she said.
“He just makes it easy to serve the community well.”
Rickabaugh has worn several hats in the Felton community, aside from that of fire chief.
He has served as vice president of the Felton Business Association, and he coached football at San Lorenzo Valley High School for 12 years.
He still often roams the sideline at games, though he has no coaching responsibility.
“There are probably more young men out there who know me as ‘Coach’ than know me as ‘Chief,’ he said with a chuckle.
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