San Diego County’s Fire Fighters Nearly 100 Percent United

July 20, 2009 -- After the “Cedar Fire” of 2003 and the October 2007 wildfires, professional fire fighters in San Diego County, California, had had enough of the local leaders’ failure to fix issues with the county’s disaster response and formed the San Diego County Council of Firefighters (SDCCF). Less than two years later, the SDCCF has grown to include all 18 city fire departments, all seven fire protection districts, CAL FIRE and two of the nine reservation professional fire departments.

“There is no San Diego County Fire Department, so there is no coordination among the various fire departments during the bigger fires,” says Rick Fisher, president of the SDCCF and Carlsbad Local 3730. “We are out there risking our lives, but yet, the joint disaster plans and training are insufficient. This issue is the SDCCF’s chief focus.”

San Diego County is the third most populous county in California (with more than 3 million people) and is larger than Delaware, Rhode Island and Washington, DC combined. Areas of dense population, rugged terrain and the seasonal Santa Ana winds present significant fire protection challenges in the county.

The challenges become pronounced when the various fire departments attempt to coordinate a response to large-scale incidents, such as the 2003 “Cedar Fire” (which burnt 280,278 acres and killed 15 people) and the October 2007 fires (which burnt more than 500,000 acres and killed nine people).

“After the 2007 fires, it was clear that we could not depend on our political leaders alone to organize large-scale response,” says Jamie Edmonds, secretary of the SDCCF and member of Coronado Local 1475. “Very few of the ‘lessons learned’ were addressed after these fires. Collectively, we decided to form the SDCCF so that we can work on improved, safer response.

Their newest affiliate is La Mesa Local 4759. “It seems that many of the decision-makers are using these tough economic times to make cuts to our resources and launch assaults on important benefits like our pensions,’ says Eric Danell, president of Local 4759. “That is why we are now proud members of both the IAFF and the SDCCF.”

The SDCCF’s mission is “unifying the countywide efforts of professional fire fighters in educating the people and their elected representatives in the unique challenges of providing the highest level of fire protection, emergency services, and fire fighter health and safety in San Diego County while serving with the tradition of integrity, professionalism and commitment.