Lodi Fire Department Capt. Ken Mackey drills two firefighters Wednesday at Station No. 2. Mackey was chosen as Lodi's Firefighter of the Year. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

Ken Mackey honored as Lodi's 'Firefighter of the Year'

Ken Mackey was all of 8 years old when he began helping out at the fire department in Ione. At age 20, he was hired full-time with the city of Lodi. Now, 22 years later, Mackey is volunteer fire chief in Ione and a fire captain for the Lodi Fire Department. He was honored as Firefighter of the Year at Wednesday's City Council meeting.

When Chief Michael Pretz told Mackey he would receive the award, Mackey was surprised.

"I honestly thought the chief was playing a game on me. I had to call him back and ask, 'Are you sure you called me?'" Mackey said earlier this week. "I don't do the job for a reward. My reward happens when I bring a crew home safely."

Mackey, 42, has seen some of the city's biggest fires over the years. Two weeks after he was hired in Lodi, he was called in to work when a hotel above Joe Hassan's in downtown Lodi burned.

Since then, he's helped fight fires at other hotels and warehouses in downtown Lodi. More recently, he was part of the first crew that began attacking an inferno that ultimately destroyed Lodi Cold Storage on Lockeford Street in January 2004.

At one point, Mackey recalled, he was caught inside the building when the fire worsened. Nobody was injured.

"There's no glory in it; you're just happy to come home safe," he said. "That's my crew motto that I keep: No matter how big the incident is, you're going to come home safe."

Mackey doesn't brag about his work, or the fact that he balances a family and two fire departments. But fellow firefighters respect him and admire the fact that he'll even volunteer in Lodi, Pretz said.

"Ken has been one of those firefighters that's a steady influence on people. He's always there, he's always helping."

Mackey coordinates wildland fire training every year, and he works with newly hired employees to help them get up to speed more quickly, Division Chief Kevin Donnelly said.

For Mackey, safety is the most important thing: "We can rebuild anything, but you can't rebuild firefighters."

When he's not fighting fires or training employees, Mackey is traveling with his wife, Debbie, and their four children -- who range in age from 5 to 16. He also turns up at Boy Scout events, church functions, food drives and other community benefits.

For him, there's not a lot of difference between those things and fighting fires, because he views it all as community service.

Born to two school teachers and raised in Ione, Mackey still lives there but also loves working in Lodi. The idea of retiring one day hasn't even crossed his mind.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.