Santa Barbara City Fire Operations Chief Lee Waldron dedicated 36 years of his life to the fire service and served his last day last Thursday.
“I’ve enjoyed almost every single day I’ve come to work for 36 years,” Waldron said. “It’s been a great ride, but now it’s time to let the next generation take the lead and make their mark.”
Waldron was first hired by the Santa Barbara City Fire Department in 1984, and he had been promoted multiple times and served in various positions. Waldron was promoted to engineer in 1990 and to captain in 1995. In 2010, he rose to the rank of battalion chief.
Waldron spent the past five years with the department as the operations chief, to which he was promoted in May 2015. In that role, Waldron managed all eight fire stations within the department and had the four battalion chiefs report back to him. He also managed direct training, battalion chief training and fleet services while in that position, he said.