San Manuel Miner
Oracle Fire Department Operations Chief Will Ramsay has retired from the Oracle Fire Department after 32 years. When Will was 12 years old he wanted to become a Junior Firefighter which is now called the Explorers. He was too young to join but was so persistent in hanging around the fire station that the Fire Chief Don Hartman asked Will’s mother if he could be the fire station’s mascot. She gave the chief her permission and Will became the mascot.
In 1979 he became a Junior Firefighter. At age 15 he was an EMT. At the time there were no age restrictions to become an EMT. The state changed the regulations and Will had to retest at age 18 to become certified again. In 1982 Will was certified as a Wild Land Firefighter. He would work his way up to lieutenant, then captain and operations chief.
Will was honored at the Oracle Fire Departments Awards Banquet and barbecue dinner. Awards were given to all the firefighters and Explorers including Fire Fighter of the Year Brent Frost. Chief Southard and nearly all the firefighters attended as well as friends and family. Will was presented with a plaque which read “Presented to Will Ramsay as Gratitude for a Lifetime of Commitment to the Oracle Fire Department”.
Will spoke and told the story of his first fire which was in a business on American Avenue. He heard the siren, as there were no cell phones back then and headed for the station. On his way, he saw where the fire was and went directly there. He was in civilian clothes and because he was the smallest, he was hoisted into the attic, handed a hose and told to put the fire out. Since then, he has seen a lot of changes in the Oracle Fire Department. He said he couldn’t be prouder of the group of firefighters whose hands he is leaving the department in.
Although Will is retiring from the fire department, he is still working for Dunn-Edwards Paints where he has worked for 24 years and is busy as the Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints in San Manuel. TheMinerwould like to congratulate Will on his retirement and thank him for his dedicated service to Oracle and the surrounding communities.