Goodbye Firefighting, Hello Sleep!

It's time for Dennis Haag to get some rest.

The man who fought fires, responded to emergencies, managed shrinking budgets, and led training for decades of Millbrae firefighters was commended Tuesday night, just a few short weeks before he hangs his hat on a wall rung for the last time at Fire Station 37.

"I'm going to take three months off, I'll take the summer off, and then re-assess," said Haag. "I've got plenty of projects at home, a couple little trips, then I'll decide which direction I want to go."

Haag spent 33 years in service to Millbrae. He began as an Emergency Medical Technician in 1980, climbed the rungs of the fire ladder very quickly, and became the Fire Chief in 2000.

Haag's announced departure Tuesday night was met with scattered tears before a crowded Millbrae city council chambers. Repeatedly, the fire chief was lauded; in person by Senator Leland Yee, in absentia by representatives of Assemblyman Jerry Hill, Congresswoman Jackie Speier, and the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.

Finally, it was the council's time.

"I know that being the center of attention is the last thing on his mind, in fact he hates it," said Vice-Mayor Gina Pappan.

"I wish you fair winds and following seas,” said Councilmember and former Mayor Robert Gottschalk.

Haag wore two big hats in 2004 and 2005, managing both fire and police departments as the Director of Public Safety.

"(His leadership) was so good, that for awhile, we had him doubling up and acting as police chief when there was a vacancy," said Gottschalk.

In his last appointment, Haag was appointed Fire Chief of San Bruno, running concurrently with his tenure in Millbrae. In that role, Haag led the emergency response to the San Bruno explosion.

"Obviously, September 9 was a big one for me. We had never witnessed anything like that," says Haag. "I'd just made it home to San Carlos when I got the page. Initially, I said 'Well, you know, it's probably a PG&E transformer', we get those fairly routinely. I got in the car, and saw it coming up 280, probably just past 92, I could see the smoke. Yeah, that was pretty unusual I thought."

Haag admitted the extensive training he and fellow firefighters brought to the scene could only go so far given the ambiguity of the whereabouts of the PG&E transmission line that had exploded.

"Our job was to put the thing out," said Haag. "When we realized we weren't really going to be able to do extinguish the fireball without cutting the supply off, it was like 'Okay, let's use a little strategy to surround it and maintain it where it was."

Last night, the explosion was but a glowing memory. Instead, it was time to live in the moment.

Mayor Marge Colapietro had the last word, in fact countering the Chief's desires. "I know you said no gifts, but this time I get to be the boss” said Colapietro. She then gave Haag a small stuffed red-in-color Dalmatian dog, the hue to honor the colors of the fire department.

"It's going to be really sad to see him go," continued Gottschalk. "I used to tease him, saying 'You can't retire for at least 10 or 15 years', but some of those years have flown by."

On May 25, there will be an opportunity at the fire station on Magnolia Avenue for the public to come down, thank Haag, and say goodbye.

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