Matthew Thompson - Captain I

As a young child, Matthew Thompson loved spending time with his dad, a Los Angeles County firefighter. When he got older, he would join his father on “ride-alongs,” accompanying him to less significant calls. These trips never got old, and with an EMT certification under his belt, these rides took on new significance for Thompson.

This call was for a small brush fire, but when his dad handed him the nozzle of the hose, he was on cloud nine.

“That sold me on being a firefighter,” Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Captain Thompson reflected. With both his father and his grandfather in the fire service, Thompson knew he was destined for the same. But holding the hose for the first time sealed the deal.

His dad lovingly tried to talk him out of it, pointing out the long hours, the exhaustion, the trauma, and significant time away from family.

But Thompson’s mind was already made up. While his classmates from the prestigious private school he attended headed to Ivy League universities, Thompson started his fire education at Santa Ana College.

Even before he started testing for different departments, Thompson held auxiliary firefighter positions at five different departments simultaneously, working 24-hour shifts alongside the crews and contributing his own money for meals and house dues.

To afford this, Thompson took a job at In-N-Out, expecting to quickly rise to a management position. Instead, he found himself sweeping the parking lot and mopping floors.

Through this experience, Thompson learned a vital lesson in leadership: every manager had done the same grunt work before. True leadership, he realized, is about rolling up one’s sleeves and doing the same tasks one would ask of their team.

While at In-N-Out, Thompson met his now-wife, who supported his firefighting career goals from the beginning. Undeterred by his 24-hour shifts, she encouraged his success despite the inevitable demands of the job that were to come.

After testing everywhere, Thompson joined the LAFD in March of 2001 – almost two years to the day he graduated from Santa Ana College. He moved through Fire Stations 73, 34, and 25 as a probationary firefighter, staying long after his shifts to learn and assist his crew.

But Thompson emphasizes that his career really began when he got off probation and landed at Fire Station 64 in Watts.

“It finally clicked at 64s,” Thompson said. “It was a life-changing experience because it helped me grow up,” he said of his 12 total years there, and the captains and fellow firefighters-turned-mentors that encouraged his growth. He promoted to engineer after five years but returned for another seven years when an engineer position opened at Fire Station 64.

Thompson described everything he has gleaned during his career as a slideshow of lessons learned, special skills, and tools for his toolbox that he refers to daily.

When he had to take a special duty assignment for a while and leave the field, Thompson took on as much overtime as possible. He worked at some of the LAFD’s boat stations in the Harbor, and did stints in the San Fernando Valley and East Los Angeles to stay busy and continue honing his skills.

Encouraged by a fellow firefighter who had become a captain, Thompson took the test and became a captain himself. He’s been at his current station, Fire Station 12, as a captain for eight years.

Thompson deeply values moments where he can relate to and connect with a citizen in need, or a fellow member after a particularly challenging call. “Being a human is the best part of this job,” he said.

He adopted a mantra from a former captain at Fire Station 64: “My job is to make sure you’re trained, make sure you’re fed, and make sure you go home tomorrow.”

Captain Thompson emphasized that he would not be where he is in his career without the support of his family. “I consider myself fortunate that I got the job, that I’m here today,” he shared, reflecting on his journey.

“I was the kid that had the fire truck and fire engine toys, and now I get to play with them in real life,” he laughed.