John Ha has served 32 years in the fire service. His career started with Cal Fire as a seasonal firefighter in 1988. In the years with Cal Fire, John was a Firefighter I, Helitack Firefighter, and a limited term & permanent Fire Apparatus Engineer. He also volunteered with Arcata Fire Department while going to Humboldt State University. In 1999, John’s career started with Vallejo Fire Department (VFD) as an Apprentice Firefighter. During his career with VFD, he was trained as a paramedic firefighter, hazmat specialist, and rescue. In December of 2020 at the rank of Battalion Chief, John retired. Currently, he works for FEMA as an Emergency Management Specialist.
During the years of service, John was fortunate to receive an AS degree in paramedicine science, BS in emergency management, and MS in engineering and transportation management. The education and training received equipped John to better serve the firefighters that he had the honor to work with.