Our Local Resource
Chief Bill Houk
Abridged Resume Overview
Chief Houk started his career in the fire service in 1969 with the Modesto Fire Department in Modesto, CA. Since that time he has over 37 years in the fire service. He received his AA degree in Fire Science in 1975 from Modesto Junior college. During those 37 years Bill served in many different capacities such as:
- Structural Firefighter
- Company Officer
- Battalion Chief
- Acting Division Chief
- Certified Paramedic
- Fire Investigator
- Fire Marshal
- Special Operations Coordinator for Stanislaus County
- Fire Chief of two different Fire Departments
- Taught Fire Investigation at the Modesto Junior College for 15 years
Bill served with Modesto Fire Department for over 25 years, rising from Firefighter to Acting Division/Fire Marshal. Bill was in the second class of Paramedics to graduate from the Stanislaus Paramedic Program in 1974. He worked as a Paramedic from 1974 until 1981. He was also the department Fire Investigator from 1982 until 1991. He was promoted to Line Battalion Chief in 1991. In 1993 he was promoted to Acting Division Chief in Charge of Operations and then to Fire Marshal.
In 1994, Bill sought the position of Fire Chief with the City of Oakdale, a small town about 15 miles from Modesto. He served in that position until 1999.
Beginning in 1998 Bill was the Fire Chief of not only the City Fire Department, but was asked to assume the position of Fire Chief of the Oakdale Rural Fire Protection District at the same time. He did that for over a year and a half. After retiring from the Oakdale City Fire Chief position he assumed the Fire Chief’s position at Oakdale Rural FPD full time. In 2004 he retired from that position.
In 2007, Bill was appointed as a Division Chief in Charge of Special Operations for the Stanislaus County Fire Warden’s Office. While in that position Bill re-wrote Standard Operating Procedures for Swift Water and Other Water type Rescues and Confined Space Rescue Procedures. Also during that time Bill responded to large scale incidents as Liaison to the responding departments from the Fire Warden’s Office. In January of 2010 Bill left that position.
In March of 2011 Bill started working for Environmental & Lubrication Solutions, Inc., in Riverbank, CA. His main reason for going there is to get as many fire departments to see the benefits in using the product F-500 in day-to-day fire and emergency response incidents.
