At an early age, Steven Kostal was an avid outdoorsman. Fishing, camping and hiking with his dad and stepdad were his favorite pastimes so it seemed a natural progression for him to join the US Forest Service. He started his career in the 1960s as a volunteer with the former CDF Orange Ranger. In 1975, he accepted an appointment as a heavy fire equipment operator in San Bernardino and was attending the CDF Academy in Ione when he died suddenly of a heart attack.