[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 132 (Tuesday, December 5, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2085-E2086]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            TRIBUTE TO FIRE CHIEF WILLIAM J. (BILL) McCAMMON

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 5, 2006

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the First 
Chief of the Alameda County Fire Department, Bill McCammon. Chief 
McCammon is retiring after 28 years of exemplary service to the County 
of Alameda, California.
  The district and contract service areas that Chief McCammon serves 
are approximately 460 square miles with a population of over

[[Page E2086]]

250,000. He was born and raised in Oakland, California and received a 
B.S. degree in Agricultural Science and Management from the University 
of California at Davis.
  After completing his education, he sought a career in the fire 
service working first for the Dublin San Ramon Services District Fire 
Department where he spent two years before moving to the San Leandro, 
California Fire Department. During his fourteen years in San Leandro, 
he held the ranks of Firefighter, Engineer, Captain, Battalion Chief, 
and Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal prior to becoming the Fire Chief.
  When Alameda County consolidated its unincorporated fire protection 
responsibilities into the Alameda County Fire Department, McCammon 
became the first Fire Chief of the newly formed department in 1993. The 
Department has doubled in size since 1993 with the addition of 
contracts for service with several local cities and the Lawrence 
Berkeley National Laboratory.
  Chief McCammon has introduced and implemented programs that include 
retrofitting and expansion of the public buildings and fire stations as 
well as new construction of several fire stations. He also implemented 
a water rescue, heavy rescue and HazMat Response Team that provides 
mutual aid to the entire County of Alameda and served as a key 
negotiator representing Alameda County for an ambulance contract for 
citywide services.
  An advocate of regionalization, Chief McCammon fostered and promoted 
the idea of creating a regional fire dispatch center within the County. 
Since its creation in 1999, six jurisdictions receive dispatch services 
from the center at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, with 
countywide fire and emergency medical services mutual aid coordinated 
through the center.
  Chief McCammon's list of involvement addressing fire and emergency 
medical services issues at the local, state and national levels is 
impressive. He has served on numerous boards, commissions and 
associations, and has been appointed by several governors for 
leadership positions to address incident management, homeland security, 
fire service and other issues relevant to his expertise.
  On January 5, 2007, Fire Chief Bill McCammon's friends and family 
will gather at the Castlewood Country Club in Pleasanton, California to 
honor his achievements in his profession, to thank him for his years of 
dedicated service and to wish him well on his retirement. I am honored 
to recognize him on his special occasion.

                          ____________________