Lakeside Firefighters Rescue Two From Apartment Fire

Lakeside, CA - Firefighters rescued two adults from a fire in a Lakeside apartment complex in the early morning of Saturday, July 3, 2010. Units from Lakeside's Riverview fire station (fs1) arrived in the 12000 block of Woodside Ave. shortly after the 3:31 a.m. dispatch to find smoke showing from a second-story unit. An initial report by neighbors indicated that the occupants were still inside the burning apartment. Firefighters under the command of Lakeside Battalion Chief Brent Larkin (B1) coordinated the fire attack with the rescue of two occupants from the smoky dwelling. Both occupants were transported to a local hospital by Lakeside Firefighter/Paramedics.

Fire units attending this fire included E4, T4 (SNT), E19 (SMG), E1, E2, M1, M3, B1, 4103, P412 (LKS).  San Diego Sheriff's deputies and SDG&E also assisted.

Story Submitted by: Captain Scott Culkin, Lakeside Fire District

New Update on the Riverpark Fire Station

Chief Parr has posted a new update on the progress of the Riverpark Fire Station. You can view the update by clicking on the Riverpark Station button above, or click this link:

http://lakesidefiredist.blogspot.com/p/riverpark-fire-station-updates.html

Lakeside Fire Units Assist with Santee Vegetation Fire

Santee / Miramar-   Lakeside Fire Department Units Brush 2 and Battalion 1 were called to provide assistance to Santee Fire Department to suppress a fire North of Santee Lakes which eventually burned onto property on the MCAS Miramar Base.  The fire was held to approximately 260 acres thanks to the hard work of all of the cooperating agencies which included several agencies from the Central Zone as well as Miramar Fire Department, Cal Fire and USFS.

Lakeside Brush 2 pumps a hose line on Division Z

 The Lakeside Units were assigned to Division Z, which was the northern flank of the fire.  Acting Lakeside Battalion Chief Charles Weber was the Division Supervisor for Division Z, ultimately responsible for coordinating all of the suppression efforts on the north side of the fire.  Lakeside Brush 2 was one of the two engines used to provide water to the north end of the fire, which required approximately 5,000 ft. of 1.5" hose to extinguish.

A portable water tank is set up to provide water for the fire suppression

 A portable water tank was set up to address the need for water utilized for fire suppression and overhaul.    These tanks hold up to 1,500 gallons of water which are filled by Water Tenders, such as the one pictured above, to provide a constant source of water during the fire.  In remote locations water supply proves to be a challenging obstacle which must be addressed early on.  Having a steady flow of water helps expedite suppression and provide for crew safety during wildfire operations.

Protecting the Oak Trees was a priority on this fire

 Protecting property as well as the environment are priorities in wildland firefighting.  When a fire is burning through an area with trees that are able to be saved firefighters will try to keep the fire in the low laying ground fuels out of the trees and taller vegetation that take much longer to grow back.  This is not always possible but something we do if we can.

The fire pushing East towards the road

Lakeside Captain Victor Gonzales and Firefighter/Paramedic Eric Stamm waiting to put the fire out when it reaches the road

Firefighters commonly use dirt roads to help stop the fire.  In the picture above Lakeside firefighters wait for the fire to reach the road before extinguishing it.  This method helps provide for crew safety by allowing them to stand in an area the will not burn while putting out the fire.  It also decreases the work and time required to overhaul a fire by letting it burn up to an existing fire break.

A view of the grass after it had burned up to the road

This fire was an example of how effective our existing automatic and mutual aid systems are in Southern California.  If there was not the rapid response by several agencies who were able to seamlessly work in conjunction with one another this fire would have been much larger.  Using a well coordinated attack the firefighters on scene were able to keep this fire away from any populated areas thereby achieving our primary goal to provide for life safety.

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Story submitted by: Firefighter / Paramedic Bernie Molloy

Occupants Escape with Minor Injuries on Highway 8 Business

Glenview: On Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010 at 9:39 AM, the Lakeside Fire District dispatched an engine company, rescue company, ALS ambulance, and Battalion Chief to a reported vehicle accident in the 13500 block of Highway 8 Business. On the arrival of Rescue 3 (Lake Jennings Station) they encountered two vehicles with significant damage, and some property damage as a result of one of the cars leaving the roadway.

Lakeside Fire personnel assess a victim of this moderate velocity accident.

On initial assessment paramedics initiated treatment on an occupant that complained of neck pain. All other occupants denied injury. Fortunately because of the use of shoulder and lap restraints by all parties none of the injuries are considered "life threatening".

CHP is currently investigating the accident. A total of 9 Lakeside Fire personnel responded to the incident.

Submitted By: Captain Mark Grow, Lakeside Fire District

Lakeside Firefighters Participate in Countywide Rescue Drill

San Diego: Lakeside Firefighters attended the countywide Technical Rescue Drill at the San Diego Fire-Rescue training center at Camp Nimitz on Saturday, June 19, 2010. The C-division crew from the Lake Jennings fire station (fs3) joined other fire department rescue companies from all over San Diego County for this terrific training opportunity.

During the daylong drill, each assigned division was presented with a challenging technical rescue scenario. The crew from Lakeside Rescue 3 was assigned to division Bravo and, with other fire crews from Carlsbad, Miramar, and Santee fire departments, had to make entry to a simulated building collapse to perform search and rescue trapped occupants. This invaluable training presented the opportunity to practice many essential technical rescue skills such as wall breaching, tunneling, shoring, and victim removal.

 Lakeside Firefighters acknowledge the tremendous amount of planning and hard work that went into making this drill happen. We would like to thank the San Diego Fire-Rescue department for a job well done.

Carlsbad Captain Scott Lollis keeps an eye on the entrance to the "building collapse" while Santee Captain Larry Roberts directs operations.

A Miramar F.D. firefighter makes his way through a tight space.

Carlsbad Firefighter/Paramedic Kevin Lynds tunneling in.

The "cut team" fabricates custom shoring on site.

Story and photos submitted by: Captain Scott Culkin, Lakeside Fire District

Multi-Company Drill on the Cliffs

Peutz Valley: If hanging off a 200 foot cliff on a rope, and slowly being lowered into an area full of posion oak is your thing....well you missed out. Lakeside crews travelled to the Peutz Valley area to conduct a multi-company drill in the rugged terrain above El Capitan Reservoir.

Departure point for crew members going over the side.

Crews conducted a drill that involved lowering personnel into an inaccessible area 200’ below the trail network. In technical rescue it’s essential that we get personnel to the victim as quickly as possible. The status of the victim will determine on how we will extricate the victim. It’s important that these injured parties received prompt definitive care at a hospital, so our entire plan revolves around this goal.

Engineer Robert Williams about halfway down the cliff. After this point the "fun" with the poison oak begins. 

Crews are tasked with anchoring to rocks and vegetation in the area, with sufficient strength to conduct rescue operations. This tends to put some out of their comfort zone as firefighters are use to anchoring to 40,000 pound fire trucks. But with load sharing anchoring, and a back-up safety line, these rescue are pretty safe.

If you look carefully you can see the firefighter on the cliff. At this point they are about a quarter of the way down

Submitted By: Captain Mark Grow, Lakeside Fire District

Lakeside, Alpine and Viejas Fire Departments Train in Trench Rescues

Viejas: Woven throughout virtually every community are a series of underground utilities that at some point required a trench to place the equipment. Trenching operations for the most part are safe and typically don’t have disastrous outcomes, but for those operations that skirt current OSHA regulations, or trenching equipment is used improperly, the outcome can result in severe injuries or death.

Padre Dam Municipal Water District sent their vacuum truck capable of removing 12 yards of dirt per load. These trucks are considered important tools in trench rescue.

Till the late 1980’s fire agencies had little formal training on trench collapse, in many cases the rescuers would become additional victims. Statistically 25% of all victims are “would-be-rescuers.” This number includes co-workers and first responders that entered the trench and soon became trapped.

Santee Fire Captain David Leask demonstrates a set of Speed Shores.

So problematic were the issues that soon OSHA would mandate that “trench rescue teams” had to have mandated training, and that their rescue operations would meet the same industry standards that everyone was subjected to.

Lakeside Engineer Steve Schleif lowers a set of speed shores into a trench opening.

Soon the fire service responded by established formal training programs, and outfitting specialized teams that carried the unique equipment required at these operations. At some point in every firefighters career they receive this training.

A firefighter works on the lower strut inside of the trench. Room is a premium once inside of the trench.

Recently this complex training was made available to agencies on the eastern edge of the Central Zone (old Heartland Zone), through funding from San Diego Gas and Electric. Firefighters from Lakeside, Alpine, and Viejas were invited to participate in the two day training.

Viejas provided the site where a series of complex trenches could be dug to hold the training, and the Santee Fire Department supplied the instructors and technical expertise for the training. Currently the Santee Fire Department has an active confined space/trench rescue program jointly funded with the Padre Dam Municipal Water District.

Firefighters work to create a safe area where rescue operation can begin.

The two day class involved orientation to current OSHA standards that affect rescue operations, orientation to commercially available shoring devices, and improvised shoring operations. The last day crews spend the entire day in the trenches tackling complex shoring operations and  simulated emergency situations.

Two firefighters work a the bottom of a trench to remove a simulated victim.

The Lakeside Fire District would like to thank the following participants:


San Diego Gas and Electric - Provided funding for the entire training and related costs.
Viejas: For providing the training site and the hospitality.
Santee Fire Department: For providing the instructors and technical expertise.
Padre Dam Municipal Water District: For sending specialized equipment to the drill site.




Submitted By: Captain Mark Grow, Lakeside Fire District

Another Series Of Quakes Shake The Area

Did you feel them? On Monday night June 14th, at approximately 9:26pm a series of earthquakes rattled the area. The tremors were centered 5 miles SE of Ocotillo in Imperial County with the largest measuring   5.7 in magnitude.
Visit the USGS Earthquake page for more detailed information about these quakes.


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Are you prepared for a disaster such as a large earthquake? Are you able to survive on your own for up to 72 hours while our local emergency service providers deal with overwhelming demands? If not, take advantage of the training offered by the Lakeside Fire District CERT program. Learn about disaster preparedness, fire safety, emergency medical techniques, search and rescue and much more. If preparedness is important to you, visit the Lakeside Fire District website and fill out an interest form.
Now is a good time to start being prepared.
Visit this story about Lakeside CERT on our blog.

Follow these links to other informative disaster preparedness websites:

Ready San Diego
San Diego Area American Red Cross
SD County Office of Emergency Services
Real Time Earthquake Information

Submitted by: Chuck Palmore, Lakeside Fire Captain