On May 10, Fire crews conducted annual RT-130 training at an excellent location where there are exposed houses to topography, wildland fuels, and common weather patterns. RT-130 is intensive annual Wildland Firefighter training focusing on safety, fundamentals of fire attack, Wildland/Urban interface, and incident command. This year’s location is similar to many areas throughout the City of Escondido and has huge historical significance with the 2003 and 2007 fires that impacted many of our citizens. The learning curve has been steep in regards to wildfires in California over the last several decades. Annual RT-130 training compiles many lessons learned and helps prepare our crews for what they might face in the case of extreme wildland fire behavior. Special thanks to Fire Captain, Craig Domingue, for facilitating an outstanding training location.
Calls for the edge of our city usually involve units from multiple agencies, and San Diego County has one of the most advanced Auto Aid and Mutual Aid systems in the country. Fire agencies can seamlessly operate with each other and we can function as one large department. We all operate on the same communication platforms, we train
together, and we have similar SOP’s. This prepares all of us for major incidents that require all departments to work together as one.
On May 17, Fire crews from Station 4 were dispatched to assist San Diego Ambulance at the Safari Park for a person with a leg injury. When crews arrived, they found a contract worker had flipped a drum roller over and suffered a significant leg injury. Working together, crews were able to swiftly treat the patient, who was then transported to Palomar Medical Center with moderate injuries.
Last week both Escondido Fire Department and City Fleet Maintenance crews traveled back to Ohio to perform the mid-point inspection on our long-awaited Type 1 engines.
Both teams spent days going through the engines as well as recognizing any needed changes. We are all looking forward to bringing these engines here to our City very soon.
