Richie Ruiz just had his first day as a firefighter with the San Francisco Fire Department.
It’s never too late to make a change and San Mateo’s Richie Ruiz is living proof.
Ruiz, 43, just had his first day as a firefighter with the San Francisco Fire Department. Before switching over to being a firefighter, he was in the Marine Corps after graduating high school, worked at Space Systems/Loral as an electrical technician and ultimately became a lead in the battery lab in Palo Alto and worked at Delta Airlines.
“When I got out of the Marines, I started working at Delta as an aircraft mechanic, then I started thinking of an exit plan,” he said. “My brother-in-laws are Menlo Park firefighters. I was seeing what they were doing and what the fire service is all about and it kind of got me scratching my head.”
Ruiz, a father of three girls aged 9, 11 and 15, graduated from Hillsdale High School and was raised in San Mateo. His journey to the fire department began in the spring of 2007, when he started going to school to study fire science. His family was, for the most part, excited about his career transition.
“They said, ‘Coming into it this late in the game, prepare for the worst,’” he said. “Not only was the economy bad, but they like getting young people. The odds were against me.”
Having been in the Marines for four years made the fire service a little bit easier for Ruiz, he said. Balancing working, going to school and being a dad was a challenge though, he said.
“The biggest challenge for me was trying to maintain the household while being away from the academy,” he said. “It was hard because I had to work full time. Trying to balance family life with work life was a lot.”
The first day on the job this week was nerve racking for Ruiz, who attended the 17-week San Francisco Fire Department Fire Academy program where he received hands-on firefighter training.
“Not knowing what to expect, what calls will we get,” he said. “Also mixed with excitement. It was a mixed bag of emotions.”
It was more than just the studies that Ruiz came to enjoy.
“Helping people — that’s what intrigued me the most,” he said. “I went in thinking, ‘This is a cool job, go fight fires.’ It ended up being more than that — it was about helping people at their worst.”
When he attended Fire Academy at College of San Mateo, other students were a lot younger than him, but he felt welcome and kind of blended in well with them, he said. They seemed to appreciate his life experience.
“I have no regrets,” he said. “I’m a kid again! I feel like I’m 20.”
It’s not smart to just jump into a big life transition, he said.
“I had a game plan and didn’t deviate from that plan,” he said. “You’ve got to do what you want, but if you’re having doubts then don’t bother.”
(650) 344-5200 ext. 105
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