By Tim Seyfert

After 30-year careers in firefighting that won them the respect of colleagues and residents alike, Los Altos fire captains Jim Callahan and Glynn Morris officially retired Sunday.

Since the early 1970s, both Santa Clara County firemen worked almost exclusively out of Los Altos firehouses, ultimately becoming captains at local stations (Morris at Loyola Station on Fremont Avenue and Callahan at Los Altos Station on Almond Avenue).

During a breakfast Thursday, a group of their colleagues, friends and family gathered at the Almond Avenue firehouse to congratulate the veteran firefighters on three decades of service.

“These two men became such valuable assets to the community,” said Santa Clara County Fire Chief Benjamin Lopes, “they’ll be missed because they have tremendous local knowledge and are wonderful leaders.”

Both Callahan and Morris agreed they’ll make the most of their new free time.

“I’ll definitely do things I didn’t have time to do before,” said Morris, 53, who became a firefighter in 1971. “It’ll be nice to ride my bike and ski.”

“I’m going to Florida,” said Callahan, 52, who began working as a firefighter in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills in 1975.

“I have a second house there. My family and I plan on making it our full-time home.”

A Los Altos native, Morris first realized he wanted to become a fireman while studying at Foothill College in the late 1960s.

In a combined effort to earn some money and move out off his parents’ house, he took a job at the college’s cadet firehouse, earning $25 a month and a free place to live. From there, it didn’t take long before his surroundings rubbed off on him; and shortly after, Morris enrolled in Foothill’s fire science program.

After graduating, he joined the Los Altos Fire Department, and quickly rose up the ranks to lieutenant in 1975, then captain in 1978.

Later, Morris was instrumental in negotiating better retirement benefits for local firefighters when the Los Altos and Los Altos Hills departments merged with Santa Clara County in 1996.

“He’s a very understanding, sympathetic captain,” said Harry Franklin, a firefighter who worked under Morris. “He always looked out for his men.”

Having played football while growing up in Palo Alto, Callahan initially aspired to a future in athletics. After a stint at California State University at Hayward, he took a job as a football coach in 1973 at Palo Alto’s Cubberly High School. After two years on the sidelines, Callahan yearned for a way “to get back in the action,” he said. Eventually, he found his answer in firefighting.

“Being in the fire department is like playing football,” he said. “You practice, you work as a team and you get the job done. I knew immediately that it was what I wanted to do.”

Callahan began his new vocation rotating between the Los Altos and Los Altos Hills departments. After making lieutenant in 1987, he was promoted to captain in 1992. From there, he was assigned to the Almond Avenue station, where he stayed for the next 10 years, earning a reputation as a “well-rounded leader,” according to some of his longtime associates.

When asked to reflect on their most treasured memories of the job, neither one mentioned anything specific. Instead, both agreed they’ll simply miss the life of a firefighter above all else.

“I’ll always remember the people I’ve worked with and the people I’ve helped,” Callahan said.

“Being an important part of the community has felt great these past 30 years,” Morris added. “That’s the thing that’ll stay with me.”