Pete started his career with CAL FIRE in the San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit in 1989 as a Firefighter I at the Belmont Station. In August 1991, he was offered an LT FAE position in the Sonoma Unit for a brief assignment. In 1992, he took an LT FAE position in the Lake-Napa Unit where he stayed for 15 years serving in the permanent positions of Firefighter II, Fire Apparatus Engineer, and Fire Captain working primarily in Schedule A programs. In 2007, Pete promoted to Battalion Chief back to where his career began to the San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit as the San Mateo County Fire Marshal staying for two years before transferring back to his county of residence in Napa in 2009. Pete continued his duties as Battalion Chief serving as the Napa County Fire Marshal for the next six years. In 2015, he promoted again to the position of Deputy Chief assigned to the Office of the State Fire Marshal in Sacramento where he built and managed the Land Use Planning Program until his retirement in December of 2019.

Pete proudly served 31 years in the fire service and has been a union member from the start. He became active in Local 2881 in 1997 when he joined the Serious Accident Investigation Team, today known as a SART. He participated in major investigations such as the Bus Incident in Mendocino in 2001 where CDF Airtankers 87 and 92 collided over Hopland in Mendocino County killing both pilots and the Esperanza Fire in October 2006, where five USFS firefighters were killed in a burnover in Riverside County. In 2009, Pete became a rank and file representative in Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit and in 2013, was elected as the Chapter Director. In 2017, Pete was elected as the District IX Vice President and in 2019 was voted into the position he proudly holds now of General Vice President. Pete continues to be a vocal advocate for better wages, benefits, and working conditions for our union membership.