The board of directors of the Bucks Lake Fire Department announces three new appointments to the leadership team of the Bucks Lake community fire department: David Beskeen as fire chief, Don
Beskeen as assistant fire chief, and Chris Moore as a member of the board of directors.
For the past several years, the Beskeen brothers have served as captains in the department and for the past two years they have successfully led the department on an interim basis, reports Bev Bailey-Potter, clerk of the board. Their appointments are effective immediately.
In August, the board appointed Moore to fill the vacancy on the board of directors created by the resignation of Mike Price. Moore will serve out the remainder of Price’s term, which expires at the end of 2024.
“We are very proud to promote David and Don from within the department and into their new leadership roles,” BLFD Board President Joe Knight said. “We are also pleased to welcome Chris onto our board of directors.”
A formal swearing-in ceremony for the chief and assistant chief will take place Oct. 28 at the Bucks Lake Fire Station, 16891 Bucks Lake Road.
About David W. Beskeen
David was born in Quincy in August 1963 and four months later his father, Don Beskeen, purchased their Quarry Road family cabin at Bucks Lake. Each summer from 1964 to 1996, the Beskeen cabin became the family’s full-time residence and David was personally able to enjoy 21 complete summers at Bucks Lake. David graduated from Sacramento State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985. He and his wife of 34 years, Karen, have three grown children and three grandchildren (and two on the way).
David has been a firefighter at the Bucks Lake Fire Department since 2015. He is a 2015 graduate of the Quincy Fire Academy and has acted as the training officer for BLFD since 2016. In 2016 he became licensed as a fire apparatus driver/operator, and in 2017 he became a certified emergency medical responder. In 2019, David was promoted to the rank of captain.
About Don Beskeen
Don was born in Quincy and spent all his summers as a kid with his family enjoying the family cabin at Bucks Lake. During the rest of the year, he attended school in Woodland, where his parents were teachers. After high school, Don went to UC Berkeley and then to UC Davis where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree. Don and his wife of 29 years, also Karen, have two adult children.
After college, Don entered the insurance industry, where he worked for about 25 years. More recently, he spent the past five years as the executive director of a nonprofit organization that provides highly specialized and intensive childcare services to adolescents from around the state.
In 2015, Don was recruited by Jim Rutherford, then the assistant fire chief, to join the Bucks Lake Fire Department. After joining the department, he went through the Quincy Fire Academy and received his emergency medical responder certification. Don was promoted to captain in 2017 and has been an active member of the department for the past eight years.
About Chris Moore
Chris Moore is a third-generation cabin owner at Bucks Lake and has been vacationing there for more than 50 years. He is a retired law enforcement officer with more than 31 years of experience. In 2013, he retired as chief of police at the San Jose Police Department. Moore has been married for 37 years and he and his wife Mary have one adult child.
In 1978, Moore began his public safety career as a volunteer firefighter/emergency medical technician and completed an Associate of Science degree in fire science from Indian Valley College in Novato. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from UC Berkeley, a Master of Public Administration degree from San Jose State University, and a Juris Doctor degree from Lincoln Law School of San Jose. In 1999, Moore was selected as a White House fellow and served one year as counsel to the U.S. attorney general. In 2004, he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship at the London School of Economics and New Scotland Yard.
Learn more about Bucks Lake Fire Department at http://www.buckslakefire.com or by emailing buckslakefire@gmail.com.
Information submitted by Bucks Lake Fire Department
