Captain II, Fire Station 20
Deceased:
August 14, 2019
Appointed:
04/18/1959
Pensioned:
07/07/1997 – FS 20
Details about the memorial service
Donations:
IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, PLEASE SEND DONATIONS TO:
Widows, Orphans & Disabled Firemen’s Fund
PO BOX 41903
Los Angeles, CA 90041
Ed Tapia says
I had the pleasure of driving John for many years at Fire Station 20. I was one of the hemorrhoids, Ed Gomez and I, that he would always refer to. As you can see Ed and Ed took care of him with the same name so when he got upset with us he could just shout of EDDIE ! God Dam it ! We didn’t want to confuse him as to who he was yelling at. There are many stories you could tell of John, you either liked him or hated him, but outside the job he would do anything for you. RIP my friend…
Bob Munoa says
I worked with John at 20’s, I was the Capt. I on the A shift with Capt. Pete. I used to get a kick out of watching those two spar with each other, especially about SOD days. John had a nice restored older Ford truck. He parked on the front apron jumped out to do something real quick and left his door open, one of the locals pushing a shopping cart rammed his door to shut it so he could get by. That truck was stolen out of the Home Depot parking lot years later. John was a character, Rest In Peace John.
ed gomez says
i visited john a month or so at a care facility and his son Doug also happened to be there and a therapist asked him if he had any pain and he pointed to us and said only those two . classic john. he used to give me directions to incidents in echo park and I would tell I will follow his directions and we would end up in a dead end street and he would say ok I’ll keep my mouth shut. yes he considered Eddie and I I his hemriods but he would have deffend us for our faults forever . Ruben hunt joined later and also joined that category so between the three of us john nuttperson and john Peterson were out gunned what great fun we had, john what great times we had in the front seats of truck 20, I will miss you, thank you for your friendship and protection
phil Hobson says
I worked with John at 20’s, I was the Capt. I with Capt. Al Shields on the C shift. John arranged for me to drive a brand new 1984 Seagrave Triple from Clintonville Wisconsin to Supply and Maintenance. I still consider that trip to be one of my highlights of my career. John was quite a talker and caused me to leave the engine house late many times after my relief. Rest in Peace John.
Rick Watters says
I first met John when I was an Auto fireman at “Old 17’s” and John came there as an Engineer. Later on I was at “Old 29’s and he was a Captain at 20’s and I would work sod with him and we would talk about the times we had at “The Eastside Sensitivity Center”. John Nuttman and John Peterson were a real different pair to draw to, but both unique and special in their own way. John arranged for me to drive an 84 Seagrave back to L.A from the factory in Clintonville Wisconsin also, which as Phil said was an experience of a lifetime.
John, it was a pleasure knowing and working with you, may you rest in peace.
Kevin Kearns says
I got a call from John and was asked if I would like to work with him at 20’s. I was on Engine 46 at the time so I jumped at the opportunity. I would get in early and knock out the paper work so I could work out. John approached me one day and asked if I would leave ALL the paperwork for him. John was meticulous with his entries he would spend 2 hours filling out the journal. I always prided myself on my penmanship but John took it to another level, his 351’s were a work of art.
Al Barrios says
Captain John Nuttmann “double t double nn”. Captain Nuttmann was quite a character. He was the TFC of “F Troop”. All talented guys of course. The one story that stands out is when we were getting ready for Annual Inspection and Captain Nuttmann was showing the boots how to clean scoff marks off the kitchen floor using a tad of gasoline on a red rag next to the stove. Somehow a firecracker went off and he had me by the collar of my shirt before I reached the bottom of the basement! After severe chewing out for an hour and signing a reprimand, Captain Nuttmann said that was great turd but don’t ever do that to me again. Said it nearly killed him! Lots of good memories at FS 20 with Captain Nuttmann.
Rest in Peace my friend.
Dan Winter says
Yes Captain Nuttmann was one of a kind. I remember the time I was working a SOD day at 20’s as an Engineer on the pump. During my morning checks I discovered the 2 1/2 “ hose had straps ( summer belts ) across the back of the hose bed. Working out of house I said to my self what are these straps doing here this is stupid, so I immediately took the straps off. Later that morning I find myself driving up the steepest street in Los Angeles following Truck 20. All of a sudden I heard a noise and looked in my side mirror to discover that all the 2 1/2” hose had slid from the hose bed. To this day I don’t know if was on that street by accident or if Captain Nuttmann was proving a point.
Tom Ottman says
As Kevin Kearns noted, Captain Nuttmann was meticulous with his timekeeping entries, especially the 351’s. John was a lover of the Fire station staple, powdered red punch. One morning while doing the 351’s, John knocked over his tumbler sized red punch, all over the 351’s. Needless to say, the entire 351’s for all three shifts were dyed red. John was beside himself for what he had done. A highlight for the remainder of that year was when a SOD captain would work and inquire why the 351’s were dyed red, the standard response was, “Ask Captain Nuttmann, he loves to tell the story.” Besides being a lover of powdered red punch, John loved to watch baseball and eat peanuts. A Fire Station 20 tradition while John was assigned there was to watch baseball in the TV room and eat peanuts, which were then thrown on the floor and swept up after the game. John would say it was just like being at Dodger Stadium. Rest in Peace John.
Michael Hilliger says
I had the opportunity to work around John for most of my career. At the end of my time as an Auto Fireman, I drove him before I promoted to Engineer. John to me was always fun to be around with his bigger than life personna. I loved pulling his chain at times to get a rise. I was priviliged to return to Battalion 11 as an Engineer and the fun continued.
it was during that time that I was asked as the Department Chaplain, to do John and Joys wedding at old Fire Station 28. That was another chance to work on John.
He was a professional in everyway when it came to firefighting and his crews were always well trained. Alot of that came from Ed Gomez and Ed Tapia who drove him and probably told him what to do.
just Kidding, there was no doubt who was in charge when John was on the fire ground. I will miss John even though I have not seen him much since we both retired. The last thing I would say about John, as I was the one that took his place when he retired, was again that his crews were well trained and good all around fire fighters. We will miss you John.
May our Savior and Lord comfort Joy in her loss and the future days.
(1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)
Douglas Nuttmann says
A sincere thank you to all of you who have shared stories. The last few months have been difficult. The stories of dad, over the phone and on this page, are a great reminder of younger and healthier John Nuttmann.
Blake Reyes says
He is my Grandpa and I am proud