The newest member of the Hoodland Fire District’s (HFD) career staff, Firefighter/Paramedic Tyler Myers, is also an old hand at the station and in the community. Myers, 21, grew up on the mountain.

As Myers described, when he was in high school he needed to find some direction. His father was a HFD volunteer, so Myers joined the district’s Explorers program, designed to
give youth an opportunity to see what the fire service is all about.

“I came in and just instantly fell in love with it,” said Myers, a 2013 graduate
of Sandy High School, adding that he then knew he wanted to pursue it as a
career.

On Jan. 16 of this year, that became a reality as he officially joined the paid
staff in the district.

“It’s kind of surreal – two years ago I was volunteering, working alongside
paid guys,” Myers said. “Now I’m one of them.”

In addition to his time spent as a volunteer with the HFD, he also participated
in a program at the Estacada Rural Fire District for about two years. When his
paramedic classes began to make his schedule more complex, Myers stopped
with Estacada, but maintained his volunteer status with the HFD.

He said that he appreciates the work because it’s not the typical “nine to five”
job and that the coworkers become a family away from home. Myers also
added he’s very familiar with the district, including challenges such as snowy
weather and incidents on the mountain that are not seen with fire districts
located in higher population areas.

HFD Chief John Ingrao noted Myers was one of 19 people who applied for the
position, adding that Myers is a “real professional.”

“He has always been an outstanding mature person (way beyond his years),”
Ingrao wrote in an email. “He is one of those individuals that brings
enjoyment to all those he interacts with.”

Myers added that he has a couple friends who have just started similar
student programs that he began right out of high school.

“Straight out of high school I hit the ground running, I took as many classes
as I could,” he said. “It feels great to be at the light at the end of the tunnel.
It just feels great to look up in the middle of the day and realize I’m getting
paid to do what I love.”