[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 17 (Tuesday, January 30, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E95]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING J.C. GREENBERG

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 30, 2024

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor John 
(J.C.) Greenberg, a Battalion Chief with CAL FIRE's Sonoma-Lake Napa 
Unit. I have named Mr. Greenberg as a Public Safety Hero of the Year 
for Napa County in California's 4th District as a result of his 
extraordinary selflessness, dedication, and service to others.
  Mr. Greenberg was born and grew up in Vallejo, California. He earned 
an associate degree in Fire Science Technology from Santa Rosa Junior 
College. Mr. Greenberg also achieved Bachelor of Science degrees in 
Business Administration and Financial Management from California State 
University, Chico.
  Mr. Greenberg has dedicated much of his life to protecting our 
community from fire danger, working as a member of the Napa County Fire 
Department since the year 2000. In 2019, he became a member of the Napa 
Firewise Foundation (NCFF) Board of Directors which maps out Napa 
County's wildfire risks to public lives, residential communities, 
critical infrastructures, habitat protection and protection of the 
economies of tourism and agriculture. Mr. Greenberg is the operations 
branch director of CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 5 and a helitack 
crew member with the CAL FIRE Aviation Program. Over the past four 
years Mr. Greenberg has spearheaded efforts made by Napa Firewise and 
CalFire to reduce wildland fire impacts via pre-fire fuel reduction. 
These projects protect the public along evacuation routes, enhance 
defensible space among community sub-divisions of residential 
structures, re-establish historical dozer lines for containment of 
future wildland fires and manage our rural lands utilizing prescribed 
fires and grazing.
  On July 5, 2023, a vegetation fire threatened multiple residents and 
Silverado Middle School in the Coombsville area of Napa County. This 
fire started during peak hours at 1:35 pm and was influenced by a 13-
mph wind on a grassy slope surrounded by residential homes. Lead by Mr. 
Greenburg, the City of Napa Fire Department, CAL FIRE and the Napa 
County Fire Department quickly defended the structures under threat and 
provided perimeter control from further fire growth. This response 
demonstrated the effectiveness of strong cooperative relations among 
centralized emergency responders and Mr. Greenberg's quick and 
effective leadership certainly prevented further damage to our 
community.
  Mr. Greenberg is married to Natalie Greenberg and the two reside in 
Napa County with their two boys, 13-year-old Andrew Greenberg and 10-
year-old Grant Greenberg.
  Mr. Speaker, we thank Mr. Greenberg for his persistence, service and 
commitment to our community. Therefore, it is fitting and proper that 
we honor him here today.

                          ____________________