Beverly Hills Fire Captain Steve Vance Retires

This week Beverly Hills Fire Captain Steve Vance is retiring after nearly 30 years of service to our community. Here’s a little history about Vance, written in his own words:

I started my career with BHFD on Feb. 1, 1982, after attending both Rio Hondo and South Bay fire academies. This was my first and only department as a firefighter.

With just over one year on the department, my knowledge and passion for rope rescue systems was noticed, and I was selected to attend the first “Heavy Rescue” course at Port Hueneme. This was to be the very start of our department’s “Technical Rescue (USAR)” program.

In 1984, I had the exciting opportunity of attending paramedic school—graduating first in my class. As a paramedic, I introduced new concepts, equipment and procedures. Being the first class to become certified in Endotracheal Intubation, I was appointed as the region’s trainer responsible for certifying medics from our department, as well as other local departments.

To read more about Vance, including his special assignment for the Department of Homeland Security, click here.