By FireRescue1 Staff
LAKE ARROWHEAD, Calif. — A well-known retired fire chief died March 8.
Lake Arrowhead Fire Chief Ray Ceniceros, 88, died after suffering respiratory failure. Although Chief Ceniceros retired in 1979, many continued to call him “Chief.”
“A lot of people still called him Chief,” Chief Ceniceros’ son, Gil, said. “It just stuck with him.”
Chief Ceniceros joined the fire service in 1945 as a 17-year-old hotshot for the U.S. Forest Service. He then served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, reported The Sun. Chief Ceniceros resumed firefighting in 1952 and eventually became one the service’s youngest fire-control officers for the Sky Forest Ranger Station.
Chief Ceniceros became Lake Arrowhead’s fire chief in 1965 and served for 14 years.
Funeral services will be held March 18.