Crime & Safety
Fire Chief Looks to Future as he Prepares to Retire
Chief Mike McMurry is set to retire from his 35 year career with the Scotts Valley Fire District at the end of March.
Mike McMurry could be considered the personification of the word dedication.
From his career as a Scotts Valley firefighter and fire chief, his membership in the Fire Districts Association of California, his active participation in the Scotts Valley Rotary Club and his cherished time with family, the term passionate is an understatement for the former Santa Rosa native.
And now as McMurry’s 35 years of fire service in Scotts Valley come to an end, the fire chief reflects on his time as a fireman, community man, family man, and his plans for the future.
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McMurry, 53, who will retire at the end of March, began his journey into firefighting by volunteering for the Scotts Valley Fire District in 1977. He earned the title of Scotts Valley’s fire chief in 1996–a designation that he has proudly worn for the past 16 years. Crediting his career choice to being family-influenced–his father and two brothers also belong to the fire service–it seems as if firefighting is a part of the McMurry bloodline.
“I always knew in the back of my mind this was what I wanted to do,” McMurry said. “I explored different opportunities, but at the end of it all, I knew.”
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As a longtime firefighter, McMurry was a natural fit to join the Fire Districts Association of California (FDAC), a network of fire districts across the state, where he works with firefighters from all corners of California to improve communications between fire stations. In addition, the Scotts Valley fire chief’s work with the FDAC has allowed him the opportunity to address and influence current firefighting practices, including tackling proper education in the firehouse.
“One of the difficult things when you’re newly elected as a board member of the fire district or appointed as fire chief is that there’s not a lot of help–there’s not a lot of information out there on how to do the job well. So what we’ve been trying to do over the years is develop themes that create success for directors and fire chiefs,” he said as he explained the goals behind providing educational guidelines for the districts.
Away from the firehouse, McMurry can be found volunteering with the Scotts Valley Rotary Club, where he has worked on a wide range of community projects that have had a profound impact on the residents of Scotts Valley. Among the projects that McMurry and fellow Rotarians have taken on have been working with local schools to remodel facilities and plant trees on campuses, and working with senior citizens to renovate their homes to make them safer places to live.
“There’s a lot of need out there for people who want to stay in their homes, and as their eyesight starts to diminish, and hearing and their mobility start to go down, they need help with things like grab rails around the bathroom; they need help with things like ramps and ways to get in and out of the house, so we’ve done a lot of projects targeted at helping elderly people stay in their homes,” he said. “And the labor’s always free.”
In his spare time, McMurry is all about family. He has been happily married for 32 years to his high school sweetheart, Mary, and has two children, a daughter who is pursuing a career in education at the University of California Davis and a son who is pursuing a sports business degree at Oregon University. Most nights he dedicates to cooking with Mary, using ingredients grown from their own garden.
“We just enjoy each other’s company and still have a lot of fun together,” he said.
With plenty of spare time on the horizon, the soon-to-be retired fire chief is thinking of taking on a new title: student. After his last day in office, McMurry plans on continuing his education and hopes to study fields of interest to him, such as environmental issues, alternate fuel methods and automotive or mechanic classes that allow him to “tinker.” Alongside his pursuit of education, he also dreams of traveling during his retirement, with hopes of being able to visit family and to see the entire U.S.
“I’m going to take some time to figure out what’s next in life and I’m looking forward to getting a break from working every day,” he said excitedly.
But don’t think of McMurry’s retirement as his final farewell to his time in Scotts Valley and the community.
“I’ve grown up here and I’ve got a lot of friends here and the people here are terrific. They’re great and I wouldn’t want to miss out,” he said. “I’m not planning on being in the rocking chair yet.”
And with his commitment and spirit for helping those all around him, one can bet that McMurry will not be found in a rocking chair for quite some time.