Two veteran Carlsbad First Responders are retiring this week, and we thank both of them for their incredible service on behalf of the City of Carlsbad and this Community.
Steve Dorado started with the Carlsbad Fire Department in 1995 as an Apprentice Firefighter/EMT-IV and is retiring this week as Battalion Chief. He became a nationally recognized paramedic in 2000 and was promoted to Fire Apparatus Driver Operator in 2001. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 2008 and finally to Battalion Chief in 2018.
Dorado has been a member of the Hazardous Materials Response, Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting, Technical Rescue and Wildland Firefighting Teams. He has also served as the Fire Department’s Public Information Officer and as a Field Training Officer. Steve was an excellent firefighter who was always committed to serving and protecting the community throughout his 26 years with the department.
Assistant Police Chief Jaime Balencia is also retiring this week. Balencia joined the Carlsbad Police Department in 2001. He served as a Patrol Officer, Field Training Officer, Breathalyzer Instructor, Hostage Negotiator and AED Coordinator. He has also served on numerous local boards and served on the police department’s leadership team, first as a sergeant then as a lieutenant in multiple branches of the police department before his well deserved promotion to Assistant Chief of Police. Balencia was an outstanding police officer who was especially well-regarded for working and communicating with the public. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone better than Assistant Chief Balencia when it came to working with the community, and we thank him for his honorable service to the community.
The City of Carlsbad has been very fortunate to have such dedicated first responders such as Jaime Balencia and Steve Dorado.
If you see MLB All Star Trevor Rogers around town, look out for the camera crews. Trevor was recently followed around town by a Florida film crew visiting Carlsbad. The “day in the life” episode reportedly including the standout pitcher having dinner at Mi Casita. Trevor and his family also paid us a visit during a portion of our energy summit last week.
Trevor pitched 25 games for the Miami Marlins this past year and struck out 157 batters with an earned-run-average of 2.64. Highlights also included a trip to the All Star game during his first complete rookie year. It was a great start to what we’re certain will be a long and stellar career.
Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway