North County Fire promotes and badges new officers

Chloe Shaver

Writer Intern

The North County Fire department held a badge pinning ceremony on March 2 to celebrate the district's new employees and recent promotions. Those promoted were Todd Parmelee, Sam Russell, and Ryan Lewis. New hires were Thomas Castillo, Brock Rutledge, Daniela Vargas, and Celestino Chavez. Each employee was joined by family members who pinned their badge on, and Chief McReynolds spoke about their accomplishments and the highlights of each person's career.

Parmelee was the first employee badged, earning a promotion from fire mechanic to Fleet Maintenance Supervisor. Parmelee worked previously at Ford and as a heavy line diesel tech before joining North County Fire in 2015.

Next to receive a badge was Russell who was first hired as a reserve firefighter in 2011, and was hired full-time in 2013. During his time as firefighter, Russell ran the district's Fire Prevention Week, was a member of the district and North Zone's Technical Rescue Cadre, Hydraulics Cadre, Communications Cadre, and ran his own EMT class at Palomar College. Additionally, he recently completed his bachelor's degree in fire administrations and became treasurer of Fallbrook's Firefighters Local 1622. Russell was promoted from firefighter to fire captain, following in his father's and grandfather's footsteps to become the third generation Fire Captain Russell. He was badged by his wife, Krista, and joined by his son and father-in-law.

The last promotion of the ceremony was given to Lewis. Joining the explorer program at 16, Lewis served as a paramedic in Riverside, Moreno Valley, and Temecula, before returning to North County Fire. Hired as a full-time firefighter paramedic in 2014, Lewis has served as a member on many cadres, including Technical Rescue, Community Outreach, Policy Development, as well as a trainer for new hires. He has served as union president of the Fallbrook Firefighters, and was voted 2020 Firefighter of the Year. Lewis was promoted to engineer, and his wife, Sandra, pinned his badge.

Four new employees were badged at the ceremony, the first being Castillo, who has been an employee at North County since 2018, beginning as an EMT before moving up to probationary firefighter/paramedic. He was hired as firefighter paramedic, and his girlfriend, Brooke, pinned his badge.

Rutledge, a graduate from Palomar's 54th basic fire academic and 57th paramedic class, was the second new employee badged. A Fallbrook High School alum, he has worked with North County since 2015 as an explorer, volunteer firefighter, and single-role EMT. Rutledge was hired as a firefighter paramedic.

The third employee to receive a badge was Vargas who came to the United States at 4 years old. Her family's work at the Mexican Consulate developed her interest for diplomatic relations and political science, leading to her work in community advocacy. She graduated from Cal Poly Humboldt with a BA in political science with an emphasis in advocacy. Vargas was hired as customer service/outreach specialist, and her badge was pinned by her husband.

The last new employee to be badged was Chavez. Part of Oceanside High School's graduating class of 2002, he joined the Army as a track vehicle repairperson. After his military service, he contracted with the military and continued his work as a diesel technician. Chavez has diesel training from Central Texas College and is master-certified in medium/heavy truck systems. He was hired as a fire mechanic, and he was joined by his wife and one of his five daughters.