What do Police Officers and Firefighters have in common? They both want to be Firefighters!

All right, just kidding. But, I would like to welcome Officer Alan De La Pena and the Chula Vista Police Department to the Channel 10 blogosphere. The Bonita Fire Department has a great relationship with our law enforcement counterparts. We work side by side with police officers on a daily basis. They respond to many of the same emergency calls that we do in order to provide assistance, support and protection. In addition to Chula Vista PD, Bonita Fire works with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, National City PD, San Diego PD and the California Highway Patrol. We even house the Bonita Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol (RSVP) out of our station. A special thanks to each of these agencies for everything that they do.

My last blog entry highlighted the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Though the toll was great, many lessons were learned from the tragedy. In October of 2003, the firestorms that swept through San Diego destroyed 3,631 homes, burned nearly 740,000 acres and took the lives of 24 people. Once again, the toll was great and many more lessons were learned. Recently, the San Diego County Fire Chiefs Association and the San Diego Fire Districts Association released their Collaborative Strategic Plan. This plan was developed to "ensure that we do not forget the lessons we have learned over the past 5 years." According to Bonita Fire Chief Scott Walker, "The public has the expectation that whatever the emergency or whatever the need, San Diego County has a plan for that type of operation regardless of jurisdiction or boundaries. And we believe that the public is right."

I thought this was important and felt that residents living in San Diego County should know what is being done on their behalf. Here is a snapshot of the Plan.

Continued review and development of Strategic Planning efforts that will be jointly supported and developed by the County Fire Chiefs’ Association and the Fire Districts’ Association. This is a "living document" that will be reviewed and revised as needed. The plan is mapped out through 2011. Participate in coordinated efforts to improve regional interoperability through the Unified Disaster Council and the San Diego Association of Government (SANDAG). This will ensure fire representation at important public safety committees and alignment with important primary objectives. This will also allow funding opportunities and regional use of funding sources to support regional planning, emergency preparedness, coordinated regional delivery of emergency services and emergency operational readiness. In partnership with Law Enforcement, Public Health, Red Cross, the Burn Institute, Community Emergency Response Teams and other support organizations improve Community Education and Prevention efforts through the development and implementation of comprehensive programs to assist businesses and residents in disaster planning and preparedness. This section addresses mitigation of wild land urban interface issues and assists in the planning and preparing communities and occupancies located in these areas including evacuation planning and individual preparedness info. It also develops a plan to get important information out to the community in innovative and effective ways by coordinating efforts with other public agencies and avoiding duplication of efforts. Another focus is providing support and mutual assistance in the development of new and existing Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTS) and Business Emergency Response Teams (BERTS). Provide support and feedback to County Office of Emergency Services in the development of a standardized and countywide Community Notification and Emergency Operations Center communications system for emergencies. This section discusses supporting establishing a reverse 911 system in all jurisdictions of San Diego County. It will also assist with funding efforts of the 211 Public Information System http://www.211sandiego.org/whatis211.asp number. Additionally, it will support the development and implementation of regional operational readiness exercises and help implement a Joint Information Center. Review and recommend technology improvements that will assist in efficient and effective grants and local jurisdiction expenditures related to response equipment and interoperability improvements. This section covers supporting funding through multiple sources for purchase and installation of Mobile Data Computers with automatic vehicle locators for all fire apparatus and chief’s vehicles. It also aids in the efforts to procure interoperable radios for all first responder vehicles in San Diego County. Regionalize services to avoid duplication through Functional Consolidation. This would create regional communications and command, the acquisition of mass casualty and mass decontamination vehicles, regional response training and explore other functional consolidation opportunities. Review and improve existing Military/Civilian interface. This would create operational agreements with the military for helicopter response and water supply augmentation in the event of a disaster. It also creates military/civilian training exercises. Establish a County and District Fire Chiefs’ Association Legislative Agenda. Another very important facet of the plan, this portion would develop a legislative agenda, establish partnerships with other fire jurisdictions regarding these issues and try to support the legislation through outreach. Review and identify training and operational needs. This section would standardize training, protocols and operational procedures between all fire agencies.

As citizens, we are fortunate to live in California, the birthplace of the Incident Command System, mutual aid and disaster planning. No one does it better than California. This Strategic Plan is an example of yet another "layer of protection" designed to provide a seamless response to any emergency that may arise in the future.