Service Sunday for East Fork battalion chief

East Fork Battalion Chief Scott Fraser’s distinctive baritone was easy to recognize at a variety of calls, from megafires like the Tamarack to collisions in the Pine Nuts.

That voice fell silent on May 17 after Fraser suffered a heart attack last winter when he was 55 years old.

On Wednesday, Douglas County Dispatch broadcast Fraser’s end of watch, remembering the man who trained and led East Fork firefighters in some of their most harrowing moments.

“Scott was one fantastic incident commander,” East Fork Chief Tod Carlini said about Fraser’s retirement. “I learned something from him every time we worked an incident together.”

A memorial service for Fraser is 11 a.m. Sunday at TJ’s Corral at the Carson Valley Inn.

Fraser retired from East Fork Fire Protection District in December 2020 after 20 years as a career firefighter and five years as a Gardnerville Ranchos volunteer firefighter.

He began his career in public service in Douglas County as a sheriff’s deputy.

A 1985 graduate of McQueen High School, Fraser was attending the Douglas County Sheriff’s Reserve Academy in 1989, the year he married Kristi Richardson.

After joining the Sheriff’s Office, he was a member of the Sheriff’s Honor Guard.

In 1996 Fraser and five members of a team won the West Coast Regional Extrication Competition.

Fraser appeared on the front page of The Record-Courier passing a sandbag to a fellow volunteer as they worked during the Flood of 1997.

After going to work for East Fork in 2000, Fraser was named training captain, where he presided over beard shaving so volunteers could get a good seal on their breathing apparatus, according to Fish Springs Flier Columnist Linda Monohan.

Fraser was named training and safety deputy chief in 2008.