Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Buz Strothers

A local resident retires from firefighting duties

By Sarah Lombardo

When he got a job working at Los Gatos volunteer firefighter Louis Sporleder's Shell station, Clarence "Buz" Strothers caught the firefighting bug. In 1965, he became a volunteer firefighter himself in Los Gatos.

And now, Strothers has retired from the Saratoga Fire District. On April 27--30 years and 12 days after he started as a full-timer with the Saratoga Fire Protection District in 1968--Strothers worked his last shift.

Over the years, Strothers moved up through the ranks to be engineer, fire captain, shift commander, training officer, fire marshall and senior fire officer. With five pages of credentials, accreditations, certifications, education and commendations on his résumé, Strothers had an impressive impact on the department. Firefighters trained by Strothers dot the map from all over California to as far away as his own birth state of Pennsylvania.

Strothers was involved in developing a number of programs for the department and was instrumental in the push for early-warning alarm systems for homes in Saratoga hillside areas, which include alarms that electronically notify the station the instant a fire is detected and, in some cases, are wired to residential sprinkler systems.

Strothers will remain on the reserve staff of the department and will continue to participate in special assignments and training programs.

But after 30 years, what will the Los Gatos resident miss most about the department?

"Probably the fellowship. Being a fireman, it's like a fraternal organization. It's like your second family," he said.

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