A Thursday evening swearing-in ceremony at Ceres Fire Station #1 in downtown Ceres formally added Shane Feuerbach and Chad Martin to the ranks of the department.

Newly appointed Ceres Fire Chief Kevin Wise administered the oath and welcomed the two to the department.

Feuerbach, a resident of Tracy with his wife Brianne and a six-month-old son Jack, earned his bachelor of art’s degree from Pacific University in Oregon where he majored in politics and government. He earned his teaching credential from Southern Baptist University and traveled around the country teaching underprivileged children. He also taught high school in Texas and managed a homeless shelter in Oregon.

Chad Martin, who lived in Lincoln with wife of five years, Andrea, a nurse, earned his BA degree from Northwest University, a Christian college. He recently was an intern with the Penn Valley Fire Protection District in Nevada County. In his spare time he enjoys backpacking with his wife and dog and frequents the Confluence River Trails around Auburn.

Last year the council chose to pursue three-man engine companies at the three open fire stations and said it wants to explore restructuring of fire services once a new fire chief has been hired. To achieve three-man engine companies the city needed to fill two vacant firefighter positions and add two more firefighters. The move required reclassifying some captains and three engineers down to firefighters. The result will be nine engineers, nine firefighters and nine captains.

The city’s financial standings has vastly improved from two years ago because of increased sales tax receipts as well as an expected $1.6 million in revenue from three development agreements inked with one medical marijuana producer and two cannabis dispensaries. The city is not counting on good times to continue with projections of an economic slowdown this year and that there is no end in sight to upward spiraling pension costs.