[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 178 (Thursday, December 20, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO CHIEF DOUGLAS G. SPORLEDER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ZOE LOFGREN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 20, 2001

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commend Chief Douglas G. 
Sporleder on his retirement from the Santa Clara County Fire 
Department. Chief Sporleder is retiring after 21 years of service to 
the people of Santa Clara County.
  Santa Clara County Fire Department services an area of 137 square 
miles and a population of 259,000, and consists of 270 paid personnel 
and 40 volunteers operating a regional network of sixteen fire stations 
with a $32 million budget.
  Chief Sporleder is third-generation fire service. His father and 
grandfather were also chief officers in the fire services. Upon his 
retirement, Douglas Sporleder will have been fire chief for over 21 
years, nearly half the time that the Santa Clara County Fire Department 
has been in existence.
  Starting as a volunteer firefighter in 1963, Chief Sporleder attained 
the rank of chief in 1980 after progressing through the ranks of 
firefighter, captain, training chief and assistant chief. He is also 
the Santa Clara County Fire Marshal and the Local Mutual Aid Fire and 
Rescue Coordinator, and a member of the Governor's Special Arson Task 
Force and the California Fire and Rescue Service/FIRESCOPE Board of 
Directors.
  Chief Sporleder's other professional accomplishments include: 
speaking at the National Fire Academy and the International Association 
of Fire Chiefs conference; certificates of appreciation from Santa 
Clara County, the American Heart Association; and the recipient of the 
American Legion Certificate of Commendation for Heroism. He has served 
as president of the Santa Clara County Fire Chiefs' Association, and is 
a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the IAFC 
Metro Chiefs Division, the Western Fire Chiefs' Association, the 
California Fire Chiefs' Association, the National Fire Protection 
Association, and the Special Fire Districts' Association of California.
  An active participant in community service and community affairs, 
Chief Sporleder will be sorely missed by the Fire Department and the 
County. I cannot thank Chief Sporleder enough for his years of service 
to the people of Santa Clara County, and wish him nothing but the best 
in the future. He is a leader as well as someone I am proud to call my 
friend.

                          ____________________