Cogswell extends its congratulations to David Waltemeyer (2008) and Michael Gutierrez (1995) on their recent promotions.

David was promoted to Fire Chief on July 4 of this year. He has been with the Corona Fire Department since 1982. David started his career path a year after graduating from Moreno Valley High School when a friend encouraged him to look into becoming a firefighter. He began taking classes at Riverside City College then landed his first firefighting job with the City of Moreno Valley. Later he became an apprentice with the Corona Fire Department.

This May he received his Bachelor of Science in Fire Administration from Cogswell. David was recommended for promotion by Mike Warren, the man he replaced as chief when he retired, due in large part to the leadership positions he has held within the department including with the hazardous materials program, fire prevention and being in charge of emergency medical services. David hopes to be the chief for the next 5 to 10 years and then retire.

Michael was recently promoted from Deputy Fire Marshall to Fire Marshall. He has been in the fire service since 1973 for a total of 35 years. Michael began his fire service career with the US Department of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management as a Fire Control Aide. He has also worked for the US Forest Service, California Division of Forestry, Orange County Fire Department and El Monte Fire Department. Michael joined the Corona Fire Department in 1989.

He holds an Associate in Science in Fire Science from Rancho Santiago College and received his Bachelor of Science from Cogswell in 1995 majoring in Fire Prevention Technology. Michael hopes to retire in 5 years of less.
July 21, 2008