Iaccopucci is tickled by the unexpected recognition.

WILTON, CA (MPG) - It’s not an everyday occurrence for a fire station to be named after an individual. Yet that remarkable honor befell Director Al Iaccopucci at the monthly meeting of Wilton Fire Protection District board meeting on Dec. 20.

Board Chairman Joe Guardino made the surprise announcement. “How do you sum up 63 years of somebody making his community better,” he said.

Guardino gestured towards a sizable sign, carried into the room by several of Iacuppucci’s family members, bearing the inscription: 'Wilton Fire Protection District – Al Iaccopucci Fire Station 83.' (The station is situated on Orange Road.)

“It’s a huge honor to have a firehouse named after you. But I don’t think it is enough to thank you for all you have done,” Guardino said.

Iaccopucci was one of Guardino’s mentors when he joined the Wilton Fire Board. “You helped me figure things out,” he said. “You told me things I wanted to hear and a few I didn’t want to hear…But it was all out of your love of this fire district and the community of Wilton.”

Audience member Don Nottoli, a retired Sacramento County Supervisor, tells Iaccopucci that the tribute is well-deserved.

Iaccopucci joined the district in 1958 as a volunteer firefighter. He was the assistant chief when he retired 47 years later.  He was elected to the district’s board of directors in 2003, and with one brief hiatus, has continued to serve on the board since then.

Retired Sacramento County Supervisor Don Nottoli, present in the audience, said that he and his former boss, Supervisor Toby Johnson had been friends with Iaccopucci and his wife Helen Iaccopucci for nearly 50 years. Over that time, he has witnessed Iaccopucci’s dedication to the community sacrificing many dinners at home and stayed out late at night as a volunteer firefighter. He also faced budgetary challenges at countless board meetings.

“It’s what you do in your daily life, the leadership that you have shown, the inspiration, you provide to others, and just the goodwill,” Nottoli said. “This honor reflects what you have meant to the people in this community and how you served them these many years and will continue to serve them.”

Touched by the recognition, Iaccopucci said: “It’s been a good ride…I’ve really enjoyed this for 70-odd years, and I am still having fun.”

Iaccopucci highlighted that recruiting more local volunteers remains a goal. When he joined the department, so many residents wanted to be volunteers that the department couldn’t bring on any more than 50 because of worker’s compensation limits.  “Now we’ve got people coming and going,” he said.

His wife added a few words. “We’ve had some good times,” Helen Iaccopucci said. “Thank you so very much.”

Guardino adjourned the meeting, allowing everyone to eat the celebratory cake and to capture photos of Iaccopucci and his family posing with the new sign.

Director Al Iaccopucci is honored for 63 years of service at the Wilton Fire Protection District Board meeting on Dec. 20. He and his family pose with a new sign that will hang at Fire Station 83 on Orange Road.