Your fire department is our fire department and Office of Emergency Services (OES) and the emergency response organization that is always ready, willing and able to serve you. We want to meet your emergency and routine needs and to best serve you. When you dial 9-1-1, your life has or is about to change. You have an emergency. Emergencies can run the gamut of fires, medical emergencies, hazardous material discharges, technical rescues or maybe just a call for a public assist. We are committed to meeting your needs and welcome any ideas on how we might improve our service to you.

 

CAL FIRE – Riverside County Fire & OES Department is a very large operation that includes 1,300 career response personnel, 200 career support personnel and 600 citizen Volunteer Firefighters that work from 94 fire stations, one Emergency Operating Center (EOC for OES), one dispatch center or Emergency Command Center (ECC) and two alternate ECC’s, three crew camps, one air attack base, one headquarters and numerous field offices. In addition to protecting the State Responsibility Area (watershed) and the County’s unincorporated area, CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department protects 18 partner cities of the 26 cities in Riverside County and one Community Services District. Fire also dispatches for two tribal fire departments, Morongo and Pechanga and the  Idyllwild Fire Protection District. CAL FIRE has been an integral part of the local fire protection system for over 70 years.

 

The Board of Supervisors and the City Councils that oversee our fire organization are very supportive of our fire protection system. We owe much to our elected officials for ensuring that public safety funding is always the highest priority. Our elected officials consistently seek information on how service can be improved and adequately funded even during these times of economic uncertainty and decreasing revenues.

 

The Fire Department is built on the concept of an integrated, cooperative, regional fire protection system. The key is the system concept. Combining the State, County and City’s contributions with the attendant economies of scale produce the keys to our total system. The system is only as strong as the additive components. During recent fire sieges, our regional fire protection system proved its value and is often viewed by other counties as a model fire protection organization.

 

The Fire Department is committed to always demonstrating our core values of Leadership, Competence, Integrity, Safety and Customer Service . We will walk the walk and not just talk the talk about our core values. We will be on the cutting edge of change and try to always solve any emergency while ensuring your confidence with our practices.

 

Leadership means that we will be out front and always be ready to command and mitigate difficult, emerging incidents that would challenge a normal person. Leaders demonstrate transformation leadership meaning they lead by example. We will set a positive, demonstrative example. We value Competence and will ensure that our responders are as capable is humanly possible to meet the challenges of a changing society. No one wants a marginal performer at the foot of their bed during a medical emergency.

 

Integrity means being scrupulously honest in all that we do. When we enter your house or force your door to enter, you should expect that we will be there to help someone in need and not to steal or unnecessarily damage your house. Safety is a core value. Being a firefighter is a dangerous job. With the risk of our professionals ever in mind, we must be safe with all of our work actions. We must think and practice safe work actions.

 

Our fifth core value is Customer Service. We will be close to the customer and that is you. Simply stated, customer service means being nice. No matter how difficult the situation becomes we will maintain our positive posture and always maintain the high moral ground. We will be nice to everyone. Being nice must happen.

 

Over the last 48 months, we have made many changes and service improvements but because of the declining economy we have also reduced some resources but have not closed any fire stations. With the support of the Board of Supervisors and our partner City Councils, we have nearly converted all fire stations to Advanced Life Support (ALS) or paramedic service. County OES continues to train Citizen Emergency Response Teams (CERT) and to ensure our ability to prevent, to mitigate, to respond to and to recover from disasters. We have also added more engine companies and improved staffing levels in our partner cities. Our Fire Protection Planning Bureaus are always improving the turnaround time for plan checks and project inspections. Emergency incidents include about 82% pre-hospital medical emergencies and 13% fires. The numbers of emergencies continues to escalate with firefighters responding to an average of 325 to 350 daily emergencies.

 

Due to some outstanding firefighting and emergency management, effective public education and good old luck, the October 2007 Fire Siege spared Riverside County. During the siege, 51 fires occurred in the county out of a total of 251 Southern California fires. All Riverside County fires were contained at small sizes except for two separate 400 acre fires, one near Aguanga and the other near La Cresta (was actually three fires totaling 400 acres), and one 30 acre fire west of Wildomar. During the 2007 siege, we conducted three public meetings. One was held in the City of Temecula and attended by about 4,000 local residents. The second was held in the Temescal Valley and attended by 500 residents. The third was held near San Jacinto and attended by about 200 residents who suffered serious wind damage at a mobile home park.

 

Three major 2007 fires that burned outside of the county threatened to enter Riverside County. They included the Poomacha Fire that burned over 51,000 acres and destroyed 138 residences including much of the west end of Palomar Mountain. The 9,000 acre Rice Fire that started west of Rainbow Valley, jumped Interstate 15, destroyed 206 residences in Fallbrook and threatened to move into the county near DeLuz. The Santiago Fire was contained to Orange County after burning 28,000 acres and 15 residences. Because of the threat of these fires entering the county, we set in motion a Fire-OES-Sheriff contingency planning group. The group developed plans for operational firefighting and emergency services particularly evacuations.

 

During 2007, CAL FIRE and Riverside County firefighters conducted over 34,000 inspections of residential dwellings for compliance with hazard reduction requirements. If citizens would abide by the 100’ hazard reduction-clearance requirements fewer houses would burn during large and damaging fires. Firefighters have a chance to save a house when clearance exists.

 

On November 15, 2008, the Freeway Fire started on the south side of the 91 Freeway just east of Green River Drive. Burning under the influence of a 40 MPH Santa Ana or East Wind, the fire rapidly burned into and through parts of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino Counties. Eventually, over 41,000 acres burned and nearly 200 residences. After the fire, the Orange County Fire Department analyzed why structures burned. They found lack of brush clearance, open roof tiles at the gutter level, faulty attic and foundation vent screens, wooden decks and fences and flammable ornamental vegetation as contributing causes of structures igniting. Riverside County is using the analysis via the Fire Hazard Reduction Task Force to prevent similar occurrences.

 

During early December 2009, the Board of Supervisors adopted the Ready! Set! Go! theme for preparation, notification and evacuation of citizens threatened by an impending wild fire. Ready means you have hardened your house and provided necessary brush clearance. Set means you have all of the needed amenities to out last a fire if not evacuated or, if evacuated, have your valuables immediately ready to grab and leave. Go means you leave when so advised by law enforcement. We feel the program will be simple for the public to understand and implement. Efforts will begin soon to educate everyone on Ready! Set! Go!

 

In the end, Fire is committed to teamwork that best serves you. We are not about, “ I,” “Me,” or ”My.” We are about plural, team-type pronouns, “We,” “Our,” and ”Us.” We will demonstrate and ask that you evaluate our core values: Leadership, Competence, Integrity, Safety and Customer Service . If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at john.hawkins@fire.ca.gov . Thank you very much for your continued support.

Thank you very much,
John R. Hawkins, Fire Chief