James David Varner

1948 - 2024

Born into this world to Elizabeth Louise Van Buren Varner and Harrison Charles Varner on October 27, 1948, at the Oakland Alameda Navel Hospital. Jim passed away suddenly in his home in Penn Valley, California on March 23, 2024.

In his formative years he was known as James, Jimmy and finally settling on Jim, his elementary school years were spent at Virginia Prep, and in his middle school years his father, a career Naval Officer was transferred again to Oakland Navel Fleet & Supply Center. With this move his parents purchased a home in San Bruno, California.

Jim attended Oceana High School and was active on the swim team and basketball. He attended and achieved an AA Degree from College of San Mateo. With the love of basketball, he joined and played adult league for many years. He also loved water sports, surfing, scuba diving and sailing.

He joined the Point Montara Fire Department in 1969, later transferring to Half Moon Bay Fire Department and later finding his perfect fit with the Redwood City Fire Department in 1972. Starting as a firefighter and working his way to Battalion Chief, retiring in May 2003 after 31 years of dedicated service. During his tenure with the Redwood City Fire Department his actions lead to the creation of the San Mateo County Deployment Plan, promoted, and implemented the concept of a county wide numbering system for our community's emergency apparats and fire stations. Created the idea of the current Battalion coverage, tirelessly fought for a shared fire dispatch system, which recreated Fire Net Six in the South end of San Mateo County.

Fire Net Six allowed the agencies to experiment with dropped boundaries. The closest resource would respond to the incident regardless of jurisdictional boundaries.

Battalion Chief Varner was a thinker, a visionary and an inventor, he constantly worked to adapt innovative technology to the Fire Service. Introducing wireless and remote connectivity for operational units, be it printers on the fire engines, use of two mobile radios to improve command and control, mapping and date systems for command vehicles, Jim was always looking for new way, means and methods to improve the capabilities of the Fire Service to serve our communities better and more safely.

Battalion Chief Jim Varner passionately brought the vision of elevated level of service to be provided to the citizens of San Mateo County today in the late nineteen eighties and early nineties.

Battalion Chief Jim Varner is missed by many and is survived by one son James David Varner II.