Features

Retired Chief Dies in Venice 

Well-respected former Berkeley Fire Chief Chester Moller died Wednesday while touring Venice, Italy, with a group of current and retired firefighters, reports Acting Fire Chief David Orth. 

Born in San Francisco in 1912, Moller had been the oldest surviving former chief of the Berkeley department. He retired on Sept. 1, 1964 after seven years as the city’s top firefighter, Orth said. 

“He was very, very well liked,” Orth said. “He attended Chief Reginald Garcia’s retirement, and he was here for the 100th anniversary badge ceremonies. He was also quite active in various firefighters’ organizations around the state.” 

Among his survivors is daughter Sandy Englund, who has served as secretary to several Berkeley city managers. 

Services were still pending at press time. 

New Station Groundbreaking 

Chief Orth invited the public to attend this Saturday’s groundbreaking for the city’s newest fire station at 3000 Shasta Road, just off Grizzly Peak Road in the Berkeley Hills. 

Ceremonies will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. 

The 6,920 square-foot station will provide additional protection to the fire-prone hills area and will house two full-size and two smaller engines. 

Crews Battle Freeway Fire  

Berkeley firefighters were summoned to battle a blaze on Interstate-80 at the University Avenue exit early Sunday after a tractor with two trailers crashed and burned on the freeway. 

Chief Orth said the accident was originally reported at 5:01 a.m. by a cell phone user who called 911, which is answered by the Highway Patrol, and mistakenly said the fire was in Albany. 

Albany firefighters arrived and quickly ran out of water before the blaze could be extinguished. They then called for help from Berkeley, which sent a ladder truck and three engines to supply additional water. 

The fire, ignited by a ruptured tank underneath the cab, destroyed the tractor and one of the two plywood-lined Fiberglas trailers. No one was injured in the incident. 

Southbound traffic was closed for nearly two hours, causing a jam that stretched back to Vallejo. Two lanes were opened at 6:45 a.m., and traffic flow was fully restored after firefighters finally left the scene at 8 a.m.