Published weekly

February 24, 2005

Rural departments to get $400,000 for projects

By Joe Naiman
For The Alpine Sun
     SAN DIEGO — The San Diego County Task Force on Fire Protection and Emergency Medical Services recommended recipients of the $400,000 available from the County of San Diego for fire protection facilities and equipment. The Feb. 18 recommendations include money for the Boulevard, Campo, Mt. Laguna, Pine Valley, and San Diego Rural fire departments.
     The task force recommended $46,000 for an emergency generator for the San Diego Rural Fire Protection District to use in Dulzura, $43,086 for self-contained breathing apparatus for the Mount Laguna Volunteer Fire Department, $34,561 for SCBA equipment for the Campo Volunteer Fire Department, $30,000 for the Pine Valley Fire Protection District to build a training facility, $19,520 for rescue equipment for the San Diego Rural Fire Protection District, and $4,500 for fire shelters for the Boulevard Volunteer Fire Department.
     The county has committed $200,000 in Community Development Block Grants each year for needs of the fire service and an additional $200,000, derived from the savings of refinancing the county's Otay prison, into a trust fund for fire agencies. Although Community Development Block Grant funds are restricted to eligible neighborhoods, the trust fund awards have no such restriction. Applications for funding are reviewed by volunteers from the task force, who grade them and make recommendations for the entire task force to approve. The task force's recommendations then go to the supervisors for approval.
     "It's a great process that's been established and I appreciate the teamwork," said County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who chairs the task force.
     CDBG money will fund the Campo and Dulzura equipment, while the trust fund will provide the money for the Boulevard and Pine Valley grants and the San Diego Rural rescue facility. Both sources of money will be used to fund the Mount Laguna equipment.
     "When we identify a need we try to meet it," said Darrell Jobes, the fire chief of the East County Fire Protection District and the chair of the trust fund subcommittee. "We're making success, but it's very small in the picture of the overall needs of this county."
     The Dulzura Community Development Committee has been working with the community and the San Diego Rural Fire Protection District to find reliable evacuation sites for Dulzura and Barrett Junction. The emergency generators will allow the fire protection district to operate evacuation sites.
The San Diego Rural Fire Protection District has also been working to replace and upgrade its rescue supply inventory, and the rescue equipment funding will allow it to do so.
     The Mount Laguna Volunteer Fire Department area has 60 year-round residents but more than 3 million visitors annually in federal recreation areas. The volunteer fire department needs new SCBA (breathing apparatus) equipment to be in compliance with current safety standards.
     The Campo SCBA equipment will also be replaced, although due to limited funds, the proposal to purchase a new fill station for the SCBA equipment was relegated to alternative status.
     The funding for the Pine Valley Fire Protection District will allow the fire department to build a training facility with classrooms. The Pine Valley Fire Protection District, which covers approximately 40 square miles, also provides training to various other fire departments in East County.
     The fire shelters for the Boulevard Volunteer Fire Department will provide protection for firefighters in wildland fires.
     The recommendations will be brought to the board of supervisors, at a March meeting.

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