Profile: Adolfo Kohara
What inspired you to volunteer with the Fire Company?
Since I was young I have enjoyed participating in community based volunteer organizations - before moving to the United States, I volunteered as a member in the Argentinian Civil Defense Organization & Search and Rescue Organizations, and the Amature (HAM) Radio Emergency Networks in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.
After moving to the United States with my family for work and ultimately deciding to retire here, I found I had some spare time and decided to join some of the community based organizations here in town - this was when I found Whitehouse Fire Company.
Upon acceptance, I started as an Associate Member and completed my certification as a Fire Police Officer; the exposure I received to Firefighting Operations as an Associate Member inspired me to complete the required training as a Volunteer Firefighter. So in 2023, I went back to school to complete my Firefighter I certification; while it was not easy, I proudly graduated as a firefighter at the age of 69!
In your own words, please describe your role in the Whitehouse Fire Company organization.
I have two main roles with the Whitehouse Fire Company; one on the Executive side overseeing the company finances and treasury, and on the Operations side as a Firefighter and Fire Police Officer. I also serve on company committees including the Technology committee, Membership/ Investigating committee, Truck committee and the Photo/Media committee.
We provide service to the community where we live responding to incidents such as traffic accidents, hazardous materials (HazMat) calls, downed power lines, brush/wild fires and structure fires.
What other things do you do outside of the Fire Company and how do you balance the demands of volunteering with your other activities?
I have a wonderful family and we always look for things we can do that bring us joy. After finishing my schooling and starting to work, I was able to get my commercial helicopter pilots license; I love to build and fly RC models, make a QSO, ride my motorcycle and travel across the country in our RV with my family.
I think that finding joy should be our ultimate goal - joy and perseverance always allow us to go forward no matter how difficult the challenges might be. When you do what you love, you always can find the time and the way to get there.
What is your favorite part about being part of the Whitehouse Fire Company?
As with any volunteer organization you always have a social part where the family members get together and have fun sharing and spending time together. The membership come together for many different types of fundraising events with the fire company - coin toss campaigns, fundraising initiatives, Hall Rentals, Santa Deliveries, community fairs - just to name a few. As a volunteer organization we organize these events to offset some of our operating expenses for the organization. Working on those events with this great team in such a positive environment brings me a lot of personal satisfaction!