Battalion Chief Chris Jelinek leaving Humboldt Bay Fire

EUREKA – A veteran member of Humboldt Bay Fire is leaving the North Coast.
Battalion Chief Chris Jelinek has served the greater Eureka community since 1996. He started as a volunteer with Arcata before being hired as a firefighter in Eureka and rising through the ranks to become a battalion chief.
He will wrap up his last forty-eight hour shift for Humboldt Bay Fire Thursday morning, and starting Monday he’ll serve as shift battalion at the Manteca Fire Department south of Stockton.
Jelinek said he’s spent a third of his life working alongside local firefighters, and he’ll miss them most of all.
Chief Jelinek said, “The community is in good hands. These are well trained, caring aggressive and our community could not be in a better place than to have such a dedicated group of people who are offering their services. Sometimes paying a sacrifice of their own health to take care of others and I’m just so deeply proud and I’m going to miss them a great deal.”