Posted on 06/27/2005 7:29:09 AM PDT by BellStar
KEMAH, TX — In the early 1990s, Kemah Fire Chief Larry Suniga was working as an inspector for an insurance company and serving with the Webster Volunteer Fire Department. He was also going through a divorce.
Suniga decided that he needed to spend more time with his two young children. To do so, he would have to go back to school.
He began to think about a future in firefighting. He was certain that fire prevention would be an important aspect of the business, so he enrolled in every class and earned every certification he could.
He committed about two and a half years to his education. It was difficult balancing kids, work and school, he said, but in the end it was worth it.
“I used to hear people go, ‘Oh, school’s hard.’ I’m like, ‘Hey, you try working a regular job, raising two kids, paying for a house and going to school – and I’m taking as many hours as you are.’”
Born in Edna, Suniga, 38, began volunteering at the WVFD in 1985. In April, he became the Kemah fire chief.
“Everybody aspires that they want to be a chief somewhere,” he said. “Generally you’re a little older than I am when you get to those points.”
Suniga said he wants to improve the professionalism of his department. He also wants to provide firefighting services at a good cost to the taxpayers in Water Control and Improvement District No. 12, which includes Kemah and Clear Lake Shores.
“I expect this to be a professional place. This isn’t a good-ole-boy department anymore. It’s not going to be. You’re going to act professional.”
So far, Suniga said he has been very impressed with the performance of his staff.
“I cannot be disappointed with the performance these people have given me,” he said. “They have been great. They’ve responded to every request I’ve given them to do from commitments for events in the city to commitments for the community if they’ve requested stuff from us. They’ve stepped up to the plate.”
Suniga said he wants to provide opportunities for his firefighters to learn on the job.
He admits that an emergency scene is not the best place for a person to learn, but he believes that there are certain times during a call when commanders can help another firefighter learn more about the job.
“If you never give anyone the opportunity, they never learn,” he said.
Since becoming chief, some people have asked Suniga how he expects to serve the community when he also works for the Houston Fire Department.
Suniga said at HFD he works one day, is off the next day, works another 24-hour shift and then is off for five days. He said is committed to working in Kemah 40 hours a week and that he usually works more than 40 hours.
If he is scheduled to work in Houston on a day that he is needed in Kemah, Suniga said, he asks someone to fill in for him so he can meet his commitments as fire chief.
So what does Suniga say to people who question his arrangement with Kemah and HFD?
“There are city officials from (Clear Lake Shores and Kemah), there are people who run multimillion-dollar districts who didn’t have a problem with it, so I don’t know if I’d say anything,” he said.
"So what does Suniga say to people who question his arrangement with Kemah and HFD?"
So What?
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