Giving Back to the Guardians of the Golden State

The moments at the memorials stay with you, a curious blend of grief, sadness, and immense pride.

After 28 years in the fire service, Mike Morlan knows them all too well. He’s risen to Deputy Chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. He’s a District Vice President with CAL FIRE Local 2881, and he’s a board member of the CAL FIRE Benevolent Foundation.

He remembers the memorials.

Every year, the foundation helps honor their fallen at six prominent events — including the California Firefighters Memorial in Sacramento, the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial in Colorado Springs, and the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

At each one, for every firefighter, he sees at the beginning two families. There is the fallen firefighter’s home family — their spouse, children, parents, siblings, and other loved ones. Then their firefighting family.

“I’m always moved when a family sees other firefighters paying their respects,” Morlan said. “I watch the children. They may not always understand what their dad or mom did. They go to these memorials and see the love from firefighters they’ve never met. By the time you leave, the kids and families are extremely tight with those firefighters. Two families have become one family.”

Memorial support is only the beginning of what the CAL FIRE Benevolent Foundation does to lift up the firefighter community. We invite you to join us in lifting up the foundation through the Fire Department Coffee Club and Fire Department Shirt Club this April. For every Fire Dept. Coffee Club purchase, $2 is donated, and for every Shirt Club purchase, $5 is donated.  

Each small contribution adds up so that we can make a big impact for the Guardians of the Golden State.

A Fire Family That Never Lets Go

CAL FIRE is the largest all-risk fire department in North America, with more than 8,000 members covering more than 31 million acres of wildlands. And they go far beyond wildland firefighting. They do it all, responding to a full range of emergencies across the state, similar to those handled by traditional municipal fire departments. 

More than 300,000 calls every year.

“People used to think we were park rangers or forest service,” Morlan said. “We’ve evolved. Wildland fires are only 5% of our call volume.”

CAL FIRE is an all-risk agency that responds to everything from wildfires to urban emergencies, structure fires, floods, earthquakes and even hurricanes. They’ve deployed teams across the country and around the world. And through it all, they’ve remained rooted in one clear mission: protecting California and taking care of their own.

That second part is where the CAL FIRE Benevolent Foundation steps in.

The foundation began after CAL FIRE firefighter Eva Schicke died in 2004 while constructing fire lines during a rapidly moving wildland fire in the Stanislaus National Forest.

Kevin O’Meara, now the foundation’s President and CEO, was assigned as the Family's Liaison for the Schicke family. He saw the need for financial support and turned to his fellow firefighters for help. No surprise, they answered his call, and the CAL FIRE Benevolent Foundation was born.

Year after year, the foundation has grown, raising money through grass-roots fundraising events and through philanthropic gifts. Their impact is incredible. Over the past five years, the foundation has provided:

• $567,263 in direct aid to more than 300 firefighter families

• $160,000 in additional funding for firefighter cancer research, behavioral health programs, and PTSD treatment

• Disaster relief assistance for firefighters nationwide

They’ve supported firefighters who lost their homes during Northern California earthquakes. They’ve helped families navigate cancer diagnoses and treatments. The foundation has helped firefighters dealing with job-related mental health challenges, providing the resources to receive top-flight care.

The foundation is also extraordinarily efficient with its funding. Only 3% of funds go to the necessary administration costs. For comparison, Charity Navigator reports that most highly rated nonprofits typically spend 15% to 25% on administrative expenses.

“Only 3%,” Morlan said. “Everything else goes directly to support firefighters and their families.”

Strength, Survival, and the Shirt That Says It All

This month’s Fire Department Shirt Club design is firefighter red with the CAL FIRE Benevolent Foundation logo on the front. On the back is a ferocious California grizzly — also known as a Golden Bear — in full turnout gear, gripping an axe and charging toward the fire. Behind it, the bold outline of the Golden State.

It’s a symbol pulled straight from CAL FIRE’s DNA.

“We wanted to do something with the bear,” Morlan said. “It’s strong and resilient. It never backs down. That’s us. That’s CAL FIRE.”

Printed across the back: Guardians of the Golden State.

From the Sierra Nevada to the southern coast, CAL FIRE stands ready 24/7, answering hundreds of thousands of calls every year.

The matching Fire Department Coffee Club roast delivers that same bold energy. It’s a medium dark roast, made with a blend of Mexican and Brazilian beans. Pouring your first cup, you’ll discover notes of dark chocolate, and sweet, dried orange.

Wear the shirt with pride and savor the coffee with every sip, knowing you are supporting firefighters who protect their communities and state daily.

“The Guardians of the Golden State. That’s what we are,” Morlan said. “We take pride in where we live. Our state is our department.”