Firefighter Recognized for 45 Years of Service
Leonard Goodwin was honored this week by the Orange County Fire Authority for serving as both a volunteer and a paid, on-call firefighter for 45 years.
A special ceremony was held Wednesday at Goodwin’s San Juan Capistrano home.
Goodwin, who retired in January, began his career in 1953 working as a volunteer firefighter in San Juan Capistrano. He was called to help extinguish some of the county’s biggest fires, including the Paseo Grande Fire in 1967 and the Laguna firestorm in 1993.
Goodwin was an officer at the San Clemente Police Department from 1959 until January 1989. He was among the first firefighters to serve at Fire Station No. 7 when it opened in 1980.
“He is one of the nicest guys you could ever work with or for,” said Buck Henderson, firefighter program coordinator chief. “Certainly an example of a firefighter’s firefighter.”
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