North Monterey County Firefighters

01/19/2026

On to our 2nd recent retiree, but no less important! Congratulations Captain Aaron Daniels as he completed service with the North County Fire Protection District this past December.

He began his fire service journey in December 1993, starting as a Reserve Firefighter with North County Fire Protection District. After spending years establishing himself with the department, he was offered a full-time job in February 2004. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 2019 and again to Captain in 2021.

Through his service and various roles, Captain Daniels continued to rise as a leader within the organization. To name just a few roles, and by that we mean the laundry list and kitchen sink, he was involved in USAR, Honor Guard, Safety and SCBA (our lifeline in fires) committees, Probationary firefighter training/testing/evaluation, and CPR.

Through these positions, Captain Daniels shaped the careers of countless firefighters, supported department operations, and strengthened the culture of service for future generations. As with most of our senior staff, we cannot stress enough the importance of the family support they received through it all.

Captain Aaron Daniels, thank you for your years of honorable service and enjoy hitting the links!

01/10/2026

01/01/2026

Good morning North County!

It’s that bittersweet time of year where we get to say farewell to some long term valued members of the department as they set off for retirement. We had 2 this past month that we are going to highlight.

The first is our venerable Captain Smith. He started in June 1991 with North County and held his title as Captain for the past 18 years.

Within the department, he helped found the Tactical Rescue Team, or TRT, which later morphed into what we know now as Monterey County USAR. He also acted as the lead Auto Extrication Instructor for 20+ years and hosted two classes a year through MPC’s Fire Academy, teaching hundreds of local, state, and nationwide firefighters. NCD boasts one of the best part-time firefighter programs in the area, and he was influential in leading and training….

But Captain Smith was a man of many hats. From elected school boards to working as a member at his local volunteer fire department (simultaneously with NCD), he was never at rest and vocal about his desire to better those around him.

As with our next Captain spotlight, enough could not be said about the support and love from their families. Captain Smith, alongside his wife, raised 2 wonderful daughters who are well into their own professional careers.

Congratulations Captain on your retirement. We will constantly reflect on your success and impact on North County Fire and their residents!

10/03/2025

October is fire safety month and that means it’s time to open our doors even wider for the public! Come out and explore the station, engines, and equipment at the Elkhorn station on October 11 from 12-3 PM.

09/11/2025

We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing of a neighboring brother. Josh was the pinnacle of leadership within Salinas Fire on the line and within the Union. Our paths crossed many times throughout his career and he will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and colleagues.

It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of a dedicated member of the Salinas Fire Department. Fire Engineer and IAFF Local 1270 President Joshua Hostetter passed unexpectedly on the evening of September 10, 2025. We are grateful for his 23 years of dedicated service to the Salinas Fire Department and our community. Our hearts are with his family, colleagues and friends.

Thank you for respecting the privacy of the Hostetter family during this difficult time.

https://www.salinasfirefightersfoundation.org/honoringjosh

08/29/2025

Yesterday, North County Fire deployed with Monterey Fire as part of a REMS (Rapid Extrication Module Support) team to the Peak Fire in Shasta County. The main focus of REMS is technical rescue of fire personnel committed to the incident. This particular team, designated as a Type 1, is made up of multiple Rope Rescue Technicians and a Paramedic. Members of the Monterey County REMS teams are also local USAR, so relationships and skills have been previously forged through training and calls throughout Monterey County.

These deployments can last up to 3 weeks with lots of hiking and training to be sure that members are ready when a call comes in. While beautiful country, the terrain is incredibly unforgiving and requires continual support of the crews actively engaged in firefighting. Stay safe everyone!

08/12/2025

Over the last handful of days, NCD Firefighters have been deployed to the Gifford Fire as part of a strike team - in this case, their group call sign is Task Force 2803. As one of the few Type 1 resources, they’ve been tasked with assisting hose lays and scouting/preparing for structure defense should the fire jump containment lines. Other engines with the team come from Monterey, Salinas, San Jose, and Livermore-Pleasanton.

Besides the fire, crews have been dealing with high heat (regularly over 100* near the fire line) and low humidity. The fire has significant volatility making extinuishingment efforts difficult. Over 4000 personnel have been assigned to the incident, leading to just north of 33% containment; however, the north end continues to burn uncontrolled in rugged terrain and receptive fuels. Crews will continue to work 24 hour operational periods for the next 2 to 3 weeks, where either a personnel swap will occur or the fire is contained enough to release their team!

This is a good training and work opportunity for some of our newer firefighters just getting into the service. Two of the members are on their first out of county assignment, with one having just completed probation while the other has been working in our Reserve program for almost a year.

08/04/2025

Not all station visits come from 2 legged creatures! This one decided to walk in and make themselves at home at our Elkhorn Station this morning. If you are missing this beauty, they escaped down Elkhorn Road during exchange the morning!

07/29/2025

Yesterday July 28th at 0645 hours, NCD and their mutual/auto aid partners were dispatched to a report of a structure fire with possible entrapment in the area of Tucker and Strawberry Roads.

Upon arrival, a double wide mobile home was found to be 30% involved with heavy fire and smoke throughout the interior and attic space. Multiple windows had already broken allowing the free flow of oxygen. This gives fires what we refer to as flow path, or in other terms, a path of least resistance for exponential growth.

Due to the emergent nature of rescues and substantially decreased survivability in fires over time, crews forego typical safety protocols to effect immediate intervention such as having additional personnel standing by for safety of interior crews. Personnel from Aromas and North County Fire immediately began applying water to increase survivability inside while gathering information from witnesses. One witness stated that the resident had not been seen and that their bedroom was on the opposite side of the structure relative to the fire.

Two members broke the bedroom window and made access, searching for the individual. They were found in low visibility conditions and immediately removed from the structure. This all happened in under 8 minutes from the initial arrival time by the 4 personnel. Crews and the Medic unit attempted CPR and Advanced Life Support (ALS) interventions once safely away from the entry point while arriving personnel took over fire attack inside the home. Despite the attempts, the resident unfortunately did not survive.

As firefighters, these are the high risk calls we train for. We did our absolute best, but it still ended in tragedy. We would like the community to keep the family in your thoughts and to personally express our condolences, but also gratitude for the support we received by neighbors and the family that arrived. Know that we will always be there for you, your loved ones, and the community.

Thank you to our partners Aromas, Watsonville, and Monterey Regional Fire for their crews and apparatus. Thank you to AMR and Monterey County Sheriffs.

Photo of the structure at arrival by AMR Medic 21.

07/10/2025

*This is not a paid promotion nor do we have any direct affiliation with the producers of this application and/or service*

As we creep into fire season, many people rely on family, friends, social media, and newscasters to receive news about current wildfires. Years ago, fire personnel used to rely on messaging boards and social media groups to get information on new starts for potential Strike Team deployments. New organizations have embraced technology and consolidated all that information, delivering it in an accessible and easy to understand application - Watch Duty.

The think tanks behind the app are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization who deliver up to date information on fires through the western US; however, and more importantly, a crucial feature is the ability to create alerts for specific counties so you’re always in the know if something happens locally.

We recommend downloading and watching tutorials on how to best utilize their application for you and your family. Be informed, be fire safe!

https://www.watchduty.org