[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 93 (Monday, June 23, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1328]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          THE OCCASION OF THE RETIREMENT OF CHIEF MARK MEAKER

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                             HON. DOUG OSE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 23, 2003

  Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Mark Meaker for his 
many years of dedicated service to a number of Northern California fire 
departments, and also to congratulate him on the occasion of his 
upcoming retirement.
  Mark Meaker began his fire service career in 1971 as a volunteer 
firefighter with the Arcade Fire District. After a year with Arcade, he 
went to work with the Citrus Heights Fire District in 1972 and worked 
his way up through the ranks. Chief Meaker spent eight years as a 
company officer, six as a battalion chief and five years as an 
Operations assistant chief for the Sacramento County Fire Protection 
District. In that period, he played a key role in the development of 
their ambulance program and was incident commander on many large-scale 
emergency operations
  Mr. Meaker became Fire Chief of the Elk Grove Community Services 
District Fire Department in July of 1997. Since becoming Fire Chief, 
the department has completed construction of three new fire stations, 
and is scheduled to begin construction on a $2.7 million fire training 
facility this spring.
  Under Chief Meaker's leadership the Elk Grove CSD Fire Department has 
dramatically improved upon the rate at which its crews respond to 
emergency situations. The department now executes an emergency response 
time of 5 minutes or less 75 percent of the time the crew is called 
into action. This is a 35 percent increase, up from 40 percent in the 
years prior to his service. Mr. Meaker supported the improved education 
and motivation of line personnel, implemented an aggressive move-up 
policy along with restrictions on units leaving their cover areas, and 
aided in the construction of additional fire stations. These 
improvements, along with Mr. Meaker's dedication and hard work, are 
responsible for the dramatic improvement in the Elk Grove CSD Fire 
Department's emergency response time.
  After six years of serving as Fire Chief for the Elk Grove Community 
Service District Fire Department and more than 30 years of dedicated 
duty to California's fire service, Mark Meaker is retiring. It is my 
pleasure to honor him today; his hard work and dedication will be 
missed.

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