Whether there’s a blaze in the kitchen, an oil slick in the bay or a lost person, firefighters and paramedics arrive at the scene equipped and ready to tackle the job. For two decades, Redwood alumnus Ken Royal served our community in this role.
Before joining the Tiburon Fire Protection District, Royal was a varsity swimmer and sailor at UC Berkeley. After graduating, he worked in finance in San Francisco, eventually earning his real estate license. Though rewarding in some respects, Royal ultimately felt finance was not his calling, and looked elsewhere for fulfillment.

“I started taking [Emergency Medical Technicians] (EMT) classes at San Francisco City College,” Royal said. “I was also volunteering at Southern Marin Fire District at the time, riding along on the ambulance at night, and then working finance during the day.”
Royal managed to balance this workload for a year and a half before finally being selected as a trainee for the Mill Valley Fire Department. However, it wasn’t easy; the tests to become a firefighter were strenuous, using sledgehammers and climbing ladders up to 110 feet, the equivalent of a 10-story building, along with many other trials.
“ There are 400 people going after two jobs,” Royal said. “[So] you have to be competitive in those tests.”
In addition to the demanding physicality of the training, intellectual components are equally important. Royal was verbally grilled by several intimidating chiefs, questioning his knowledge, experience and determination for the job.
“[They] ask you a bunch of scenario questions,” Royal said. “‘What makes you think you would be confident and collected in an emergency scenario? Can you give us three examples of what kind of emergencies you’ve been in and how you handled yourself?’”

After passing rigorous tests and interviews, Royal was offered a full-time position as a firefighter EMT at the Tiburon Fire Protection District in 2002.
Throughout his 20 years of service to the Tiburon community, self-reflection was essential to Royal’s career, whether it was processing his emotions after having three, tough back-to-back calls or an interaction with a self-harming victim. He emphasized how important it is to take things one step at a time.
“ Someone who’s looking at the fire service as a possible career step, they need to look at it as such as that,” Royal said. “You need to take [steps] to see if you have naturally what it would take to do a job like this.”
Dalton Locke, a firefighter paramedic of the Tiburon fire district, advises those interested in this career path to start by taking classes on the basics of emergency medical and firefighter training.
“[Just] try to get pretty much those first three classes, EMT, paramedic and firefighter academy, done as fast as possible,” Locke said. “Always keep trying to learn and progress, whether it be in your craft directly or trying to specialize in something like water rescue or fire mechanics.”
Ryan Scott, a senior at Redwood, is already taking important steps to become a firefighter just like Royal. Last semester, Scott received his EMT certification, and he is currently taking fire classes at Santa Rosa Junior College. He began his training when he was only 16 years old.
“Because I started so early, it saved me two years when I’m out of high school,” Scott said. “All the classes that I took, you didn’t have to be 18 [years old].”

For Redwood students who are interested in a firefighting career, Scott suggests paying close attention to specific units offered in PE class.
“In high school, pay attention in your PE class when you’re doing all the CPR stuff,” Scott said.
He has served as a teacher’s assistant to Todd Van Peursem, helping with the CPR training. For more advanced training, local opportunities are available.
“[The] College of Marin offers a lot of great classes if you want to get your career started,” Scott said.
By taking EMT, fire and paramedic classes offered by local colleges and programs, high school students can get a glimpse of the daily rewards and duties of this career path. For firefighters, their training not only marks the beginning of their career but builds their determination, resilience and passion for the job.
“ We’re here to make things better. Having that mental wherewithal is huge,” Royal said. “This is a sworn position. So, people are expecting you to be proper, to be caring.”