Sunday, June 8, 2014

Danny Leetch Takes Third at 2014 Firefighters Demolition Derby

San Diego County Fair-

On June 7, 2014, firefighters from San Diego and Orange Counties gathered at the 24th annual Firefighters Demolition Derby at the San Diego County Fair. This annual event has a historical past of pitting the skills of firefighters against one another in this much anticipated event.

The event is conducted in support of the Burn Institute, and the work they do in burn prevention/recovery programs.

After last year's event, Lakeside Firefighter-Paramedic Danny Leetch had brought his car (the "2-20") back to life. Having suffered marginal damage after a distributor cap was sheared off early in the event, it seemed logical to restore the car and give it another shot this year.

In this year's first heat, the 2-20 suffered some pretty severe body damage to the rear of the vehicle, but fortunately it was still strong mechanically. After some quick repairs in the pits, the crew was ready for the final event.

Danny puts a pretty hard hit on the National City entry.
It was pretty evident from the beginning that the final event was going to be a hard fought battle to take the first place trophy. Cars quickly were knocked out of completion with a number of hard hits. At one point the race was suspended when Danny managed to put the 2-20 on top of another vehicle. After the assistance of a backhoe the race was back on.

Danny Leetch with the third place trophy.
The 2-20 showed promise that another win was in the making but after a punishing hit by another vehicle the drive train had suffered race-ending damage.

But in the end, Danny had captured the third place trophy in a very competitive event. Danny has already set out on a plan to field a new entry next year.

Our thanks to the sponsors of the 2-20 entry:

Lakeside Firefighters Local 4488
Famulare Jewelers
Highway 67 Truck
Sparky's Transmission
A&A Muffler
Elite Auto 
Discount Signs and Banners
Santana High School - Auto Body 

Congratulations to the Imperial Beach Firefighters with their first place finish.

We apologize for the audio issues on the video presentation.



Submitted By: Fire Captain Mark Grow, Lakeside Fire Protection District

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Paramedic Trainee Successfully Completes Internship

Lakeside, CA -

Paramedic Trainee Joe McNally successfully completed his field internship at Lakeside fire station 3 on June 4, 2014. Joe was assigned to Medic 3 and completed a total of 576 hours (24 shifts) with paramedic preceptors Brian Moore and Steve Russo responding to calls from the Lake Jennings fire station. The rigorous field-portion of paramedic training is Joe's final hurdle to gaining licensure as a California paramedic.

California paramedic training is among the most rigorous in the country. Most programs require more than 1200 hours of training including didactic, hospital clinical, and the field internship.

Lakeside Firefighter-Paramedics have been helping train interns for more than 30 years. Lakeside Firefighters wish Joe all the best as he begins his new career as a paramedic.

Intern Joe McNally (l) with preceptor FF-PM Brian Moore.