Newport-Mesa’s finest

BALBOA PENINSULA — When Tim Vasin joined the Costa Mesa Fire Department back in 1997 he found himself surrounded by a number of mentors, guys older and wiser who taught him that a firefighter did much more than put out blazes and rescue cats stuck in trees.

Now Vasin, 35, has become the mentor offering the advice, and his peers have noticed.

They voted him Costa Mesa firefighter of the year Thursday night at the annual Law and Order Night sponsored by the American Legion Post 291 of Newport Beach.

Each year Newport-Mesa community leaders and city staffers honor police officers, firefighters, lifeguards and marine workers. Both cities nominate one person in several categories as an employee of the year.

“I have always felt you want to train yourself and then train others,” and in that sense Vasin has done an outstanding job, Fire Chief Steven Parker said at the awards dinner.

“Becoming a mentor is a big transition,” Vasin acknowledged. And it’s especially challenging as the city has gone through big changes in recent years. “We’re kind of in an exciting time…. Costa Mesa has been going into a major urban development and our department” has had to make the necessary adjustments, he said.

“We’re busier than ever with all the responsibility of a [large-scale urban] department. We have increased training for weapons of mass destruction and terrorism and are responsible for different types of calls we hadn’t gone on before,” Vasin said.

Newport Beach Fire Capt. Jeff Boyles, who also won a firefighter of the year award Thursday, agreed with Vasin.

Despite how the job changes, though, fighting fires and providing expert emergency assistance is in Boyles’ blood.

“My parents instilled a strong sense of public service in me,” he said. “I like the dynamic that it offers.”

In a tragedy, firefighters “help to put the pieces back in [people’s] lives,” he added.

Boyles, a captain for 2½ years and the newly appointed president of the Firefighter’s Assn., has learned a great deal in his 13 years of work, seven of which he has spent in Newport Beach.

Working as a public servant has given the long-time Newport Beach resident a heightened sense of awareness about his image in and out of uniform, Boyles said.

“Out in the community, parents bring their kids up to us, sometimes to teach a respect for officials and sometimes to help out with unruly kids,” he said. “You’re always being watched.”

Other award-winners include Newport Beach Police Officer Damon Psares, Marine Safety Officer Jon Mitchell, seasonal lifeguard Jeff Kikawa, Costa Mesa Police Officer Julian Trevino and Sgt. Don Holford.

Costa Mesa Fire Capt. Herb Ohde, who was not nominated in any category, was surprised with a service award by the American Legion.

At the end of the evening, Newport Beach Animal Control Officer Valerie Schomburg seemed to best sum up how the public servants feel about their work.

“I love what I do, so it makes it easy,” Schomburg said.