San Rafael Fire Chief Robert Marcucci will hang up his turnout gear for good early next year, leaving behind a love affair with firefighting but looking forward to continuing public service.
Marcucci, 65, said yesterday he will leave the department he's called home for 43 years no later than Jan. 31, 2004.
"I'm 65 years old - find another fire chief that's 65 years old," said Marcucci, a city resident who has served as chief for close to 32 years. "I love doing what I do, but I have a few projects I'd like to get done, then look at how I could serve the community that I've served for all these years."
He could have retired years ago and still earned the same pay. Instead, he's opted to stay in the job he loves, going to every fire that breaks out in the city except when he's out of town.
He was named fire chief of the year in California in 2000, and his department won the Helen Putnam Award for excellence in 1998 and the Livability Award from the United States Conference of Mayors in 1999.
San Rafael Mayor Al Boro championed the longtime chief for his work in nurturing the paramedic program, fostering a relationship with Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Terra Linda and establishing disaster area relief training in the city.
"He's been an outstanding fire chief," Boro noted. "He's a wonderful guy and a great friend."
City Manager Rod Gould echoed the mayor's praise of Marcucci.
"He's a man of extraordinary dedication and professionalism," Gould said. "The San Rafael Fire Department has made tremendous strides over the more than three decades under Bob Marcucci's leadership."
Surely, his departure, while nearly a year off, won't be easy.
With a father who served as San Anselmo's fire chief for 40 years and a brother who still works as battalion chief for the Ross Valley Fire Department, "all I've known is the fire service," he said.
"It's going to be extremely hard," he said. "To say I can walk away from it is foolish. You can't if you care about what you do. You can't simply walk away from it and say you're going to start another life. The fire service, I think, is what I do well."
Before he goes, overseeing construction of the department's new dispatch center, slated for completion later this year, and the transition next year for firefighters to a two-days-on, four-days-off schedule are important to him, he said.
Once retired, restoring a 1922 antique fire engine should keep him busy for awhile. After that, he'll seek ways to get involved, he said.
"I think it's a wonderful community and I still have a lot of energy, a lot of ideas and a lot of enthusiasm," he said, adding "I'm not going anywhere."
From the Marin IJ | |
Saturday, February 4, 2012