OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KGTV) — Oceanside's new fire chief is setting his sights on expanding the city's lifeguard division and addressing mental health among first responders, as the beach community sees growing demand for emergency services.
Jessamyn Specht's path to the top of the Oceanside Fire Department was anything but conventional. Before becoming a firefighter paramedic, he worked as a 4th-grade teacher and even opened a smoothie stand and internet cafe in Costa Rica.
"I got hired initially as a firefighter paramedic and, you know, did that job for 7 or 8 years," Specht said. "I was in that rank and I loved every minute of it.”
After nearly 23 years in the fire service, including work on the Witch Creek Fire and the Lilac Fire, Specht was sworn in as fire chief.
One of his top priorities is expanding the lifeguard division to keep pace with a growing beach population. The number of interventions by the lifeguard division has risen sharply in recent years.
"The calls for service, preventative actions that our lifeguard division has taken, you know, preventing a kid from going into a rip current, preventing someone from swimming in an unsafe area," Specht said. "That went from 32,000 interventions to 40,000-plus interventions in the same five-year window.”
Officials say there are 1 to 3 drownings annually near the Oceanside Pier and Harbor. That concern was also raised by Oceanside residents at a community huddle.
"I think primarily we need to make sure our staffing is gonna grow in accordance to the beach and, and the demands that's being put on it," Specht said.
Beyond beach safety, Specht is also making first responder mental health a priority, drawing on personal experience.
"It's affected me personally, you know, I mentioned that I had the unfortunate experience of finding a coworker passed away in their own house, and that was probably 20 years ago," Specht said. "OK, yeah, go, go back to work, you know, talk amongst yourselves. There was zero acknowledgement of this, probably, is a pretty traumatic incident that may have shaken you.”
Helping first responders through their hard times, so they can help you through yours.
The Oceanside Fire Department is currently facing recruitment challenges. Those interested in becoming a first responder can find more information at this link.
