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Two of the most dedicated volunteer firefighters in the Tri-Valley are settling into a well-earned retirement.
Roger and Suzanne Lake, whose service dates back to the old Tassajara Fire Protection District, spent more than a half a century each supporting fire suppression efforts, responding to car crashes and medical emergencies, helping search-and-rescue operations and so much more in the swath of rural, agricultural and open space land southeast of Mount Diablo.
“It’s really a program that glues the community together … because you have this commonality of purpose,” Roger Lake told me during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon.
The SRVFPD Board of Directors honored Roger and Suzanne Lake at its Aug. 26 meeting in San Ramon for their decades of volunteer fire service – 54 years for Roger, who retired in April, and 51 years for Suzanne, a local trailblazer who stepped away in 2024.
“A milestone like this says that protecting your neighbors isn’t something you do for a season. For Roger and Suzanne it has been a way of life for more than half a century, and they did it while raising a family and maintaining a 10-acre rural property,” deputy chief Joe Bradley told the board during the presentation.
The Lakes’ history with volunteer firefighting along Morgan Territory Road really follows the history of fire service throughout the vast area east of Danville and San Ramon, and north of Pleasanton, Livermore and Dublin.
Roger first joined the old Tassajara fire district in 1972, when Morgan Territory had only five houses and the program was a “shovel and wet sack brigade”, as he put it.
“We wanted to be able to deal with the emergencies that we might have. I had been in the Forest Service for four summers, and so I knew what wildfires looked like,” he told me.
“This other guy and I … decided that we better do something, somebody may get into trouble and they get sick,” Roger recalled. “We should be able to take care of our own.”
Suzanne joined one year later to become the old district’s first female firefighter – after overcoming some gender-based obstacles. “When starting she was told by a board member, ‘Women don’t fight fires; a woman’s job is to make cookies!’ That did not go over very well,” Roger said.
The couple served with the Tassajara district, climbed the volunteer ranks and strengthened the program until 1991 when Contra Costa County compelled the consolidation of three fire districts in south county, a list that also included Danville-San Ramon Fire and Dublin San Ramon Services District.
Tassajara opted to join the rebranded SRVFPD – and as part of the merger agreement came the construction of Station 37 on Morgan Territory Road that allowed the engine and equipment to move out of the garage they built on their property to support the volunteer program.
The Lakes both worked long professional careers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, retiring during a “golden handshake” deal period in 1996. They stayed on with SRVFPD – and never really slowed down – for the next three decades into their 80s.
During their 30-plus years each with SRVFPD, Station 37 volunteers responded to 575 calls of service (31% medical, 31% vehicle accidents and 16% fires, with the Deer Fire in 2020 as the largest at about 3,000 acres), according to Roger. The rest were miscellaneous such as traffic control, lost or injured hikers and even a cow stuck in a tree.
The couple also saved two people from cardiac arrest with their training – each out of the district, in Las Vegas and in Livermore. The increase in medical service response by the volunteer firefighters, which the Lakes advocated for, was part of the evolution for the program since the 1970s.
“Their commitment was never about recognition — it was about their love for this community and their desire to help others,” friend and fellow volunteer firefighter Maureen Zboyovsky said about the Lakes.
“When you join the fire department, you become part of something much bigger than yourself. You become part of a family. Along the way, you gain invaluable knowledge, develop lifelong skills, and build lasting friendships with the neighbors who serve beside you,” Zboyovsky told me. “Through their dedication, mentorship, and example, they have inspired generations of volunteers and strengthened this department in countless ways.”
Zboyovsky was among the Station 37 volunteers also honored by the fire board on Aug. 26 for their anniversaries of service: Zboyovsky at 25 years, Greg Bequette and Zel Helstrom at 20 years and Erik Sommargren at five years.
“Morgan Territory is the most remote part of our District, and the distance and time it takes career crews to reach it is why the Station 37/40 volunteers exist,” Bradley said. “They live within about five miles of the response area, train monthly, and provide the initial fire and EMS support for their neighborhood until career crews arrive. They also provide fire safety education in the community.”
As they’re both now retired from their volunteer careers, the Lakes are planning to move to Davis soon but still retain their property in Morgan Territory. And as for the volunteer program out of Stations 37 and 40 going forward, “Just like we used to … they continue to do what we were doing,” Suzanne said.
“We have two stations. They have volunteers,” Roger added. “The alarms go off, and they leave the house, get your equipment, and go to the scene and deal with it the best you can.”
Editor’s note: Jeremy Walsh is the associate publisher and editorial director for the Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. His “What A Week” column is a recurring feature in the Pleasanton Weekly, Livermore Vine and DanvilleSanRamon.com.
