Bill Rodat forged his path into the fire service when he joined the U. S. Forest Service in 1977. Bill then began working for CAL FIRE, where he served as a fire captain and "training captain" in Tulare County. He was named Tulare's " Firefighter of the Year" in 1999, 2001, and 2007. Bill's passion as a firefighter was working "in the field and training new firefighters to excel on the job." He died of job-related cancer in 2009.