Multiple county fire employees announce their retirement 

–Cal Fire has announced the retirement of several Cal Fire/San Luis Obispo County Fire Department employees:

Captain John Aguilera began his career with the State of California as a Park Aide with Parks and Recreation in 1986. Since 1987, Captain Aguilera rose through the ranks from Seasonal Firefighter I, Fire Apparatus Engineer to Fire Captain. Most recently, he was the Administrative Captain of the Emergency Command Center. Captain Aguilera retired on Oct. 31, 2020, after 34 years of dedicated service.

Captain David Latham started his career with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection on July 1, 1993, as a Firefighter II Paramedic with the San Diego Unit. His career saw him promoted to Fire Apparatus Engineer, Limited-Term Fire Captain, and finally Permanent Fire Captain to the San Luis Obispo Unit. Captain Latham worked as a Fire Captain Paramedic from July 1, 2002, until retiring Nov. 1, 2020, with over 27 years of service.

Captain James Gray began his career as a Fire Captain Paramedic on Oct. 1, 2004, in the San Luis Obispo Unit. While in the SLU unit he worked at Cuesta Camp and Fire Stations. On July 1, 2019, Captain Gray transferred to a Fire Captain position in charge of the California National Guard Firefighting Crews in San Luis Obispo County. Captain Gray retires on Dec. 26, 2020, after 16 years of service.

Captain Nate Herring started his career with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in the San Luis Obispo Unit as a Seasonal Firefighter I on Aug. 21, 1989. He moved up through the ranks as a Fire Apparatus Engineer and then to Fire Captain. He transferred to the fire camp system on Dec. 18, 2006 where he worked until his retirement on Dec. 13, 2020. Captain Herring retires with 31 years of service.

Captain Felix Camacho began his career with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection as a Temporary Firefighter I on July 6, 1992 in the San Luis Obispo Unit. Over the years, Captain Camacho promoted from Temporary Firefighter 1, Fire Apparatus Engineer to Fire Captain. Captain Camacho’s most recent assignment was at Station 20 Nipomo until his retirement on December 17, 2020. “Captain Felix Camacho has earned numerous awards throughout his career, is well known in the firefighting community for his operational expertise and his willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty. Anyone who knows Captain Felix knows that he possesses knowledge and skill beyond his rank as a Fire Captain,” said Eric Shalhoob, Battalion Chief, Cal Fire/San Luis Obispo County Fire Department

HFEO Ed Hurl began his career as a Paid Call Firefighter at Shandon Fire Station 31 in the late 1980s and then with the California Department of Forestry on May 1, 1989, with the Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit as a Heavy Fire Equipment Operator. On Dec. 1, 1991, he transferred to the Tulare Unit as an HFEO and on March 2, 1994, he transferred to the San Luis Obispo Unit. Mr. Hurl retired on Dec. 20, 2020, after 31 years of dedicated service.

About the author: News Staff

News staff of the A-Town Daily News wrote and edited this article from local contributors and press releases. Scott Brennan is the publisher of this newspaper and founder of Access Publishing. Connect with him on Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, or follow his blog. He can be reached at [email protected].