Rollover on Willow Rd

El Monte:  On Thursday August 30, 2012, Lakeside firefighters were dispatched to reports of a rollover traffic collision on Willow Road.  When units from Lakeside Fire Station 2 arrived on scene they found a full-size truck that had rolled over and during the process took out a fence and several small trees.

The vehicle was found back on its wheels with major damage.  A complicating issue with this accident was the fact that there were several fence boards that punctured the windshield and were into the occupancy space in the truck.  The driver of the vehicle was struck by the boards and sustained injuries from them.

The driver of the vehicle was transported to an area trauma hospital.  The cause of the accident is under investigation by the CHP.

Photos and Story by:  Captain Bernie Molloy

Lakeside Fire Fighters to Participate in 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb

Lakeside, CA - 

Lakeside Fire Fighters will again field a team to participate in this year's annual 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb in San Diego. Our local firefighter team is participating to help raise money for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation & FirefighterAid, charities that care for firefighters in sickness, distress, and death. Every year, FirefighterAid sponsors the San Diego 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb to raise money and foster continued awareness of the sacrifices made by emergency services personnel on September 11, 2001- and those that continue as a result of public service every day.

If anyone would like to make a small charitable donation in support of our local Lakeside Fire Fighter team, CLICK HERE.

This year's event will be held at the Bayfront Hilton in San Diego on September 8, 2012. For more information visit this website:  http://www.sdfra.org/stairclimb2.html

Lakeside Fire Fighters prepare for last year's 9-11 stair climb.

Motorcyclist Suffers Major Traumatic Injuries in Crash with a Bus

Pepper Drive Area-

On Sunday, August 19, 2012, at 3:52 p.m., the Lakeside Fire Protection District received calls about a motorcyclist that had collided with a bus in the area of North 2nd Street and Pepper Drive. Callers indicated that the victim might be trapped under the bus so a full "vehicle rescue" response was sent. This included a structural engine, a rescue company, an ALS medic unit, and a duty chief.

Firefighters from Lakeside and San Miguel work to stabilize the patient.

The driver on the motorcycle evidently lost control of the bike and slid under the front of a MTS bus that was stopped at a bus stop. First arriving units found the patient trapped under the front of the bus with airway compromise. The bus had lowered onto the patient crushing him.Firefighters re-inflated the air-bag suspension system on the bus allowing crews to remove the victim.

Flight crew members assist in preparing the victim for a flight to the trauma center.

The patient suffered from multiple life-threatening traumatic injuries. Due to the severity of the injuries the decision was made to fly the patient to Sharp Memorial Trauma via a Mercy Air medical helicopter.

Agencies that assisted included San Miguel, Santee, and Heartland Fire-Rescue. CHP is currently investigating the accident.

Story By: Firefighter-Paramedic Steve Russo, Lakeside Fire Protection District

Lakeside Fire Assists Alpine on Vehicle Rescue

Alpine-

On Thursday, August 16th, 2012 at 11:19 AM, the Lakeside Fire District sent Engine 26 to assist Alpine Fire with a reported vehicle accident in the area of Interstate 8 at the East Victoria under-crossing. The initial response included units from Alpine, Viejas, Lakeside, and the San Diego County Fire Authority.

CHP starts their investigation after rescue efforts had been completed.

On the arrival of the Alpine duty chief (Rushing) they discovered a pick-up truck that had left the freeway at a high rate of speed, impacting a large tree in the easement area. Due to the amount of damage the occupants could not be accessed for assessment of their injuries. A request was made to upgrade the call to include a response from Rescue 3 (Lake Jennings Fire Station).

With the arrival of Lakeside and Viejas firefighters efforts started to extricate the victims. It then became apparent that the occupants had both succumbed to their injuries. With the arrival of Rescue 3 efforts continued to remove the occupants.

The California Highway Patrol is currently investigating the accident. A total of 6 Lakeside personnel responded to this incident. Agencies on-scene included Alpine, Viejas, Lakeside, and San Diego County Fire Authority.

Submitted By: Fire Captain Mark Grow, Lakeside Fire District

Downed Tree Closes El Monte Rd.

El Monte Valley:

On Saturday August 11th 2012, Lakeside Engine 3 from the Lake Jennings Station was dispatched to the report of a very large tree that had fallen across El Monte Rd by El Monte Park.  Upon arrival, Engine 3's crew found the tree broken at the base blocking El Monte Rd before the El Capitan Reservoir.  

The tree was completely across El Monte Rd

Engine 3's crew quickly secured area and met up with County Park Rangers.  CHP was dispatched along with a County Roads Crew to take care of the tree.  

The tree broke at the base

Fortunately the falling tree did not land on any vehicles, nor did it cause any traffic collisions.  The removal of the tree did take several hours so unfortunately many people who had spent the day at El Capitan Reservoir could not go home when they had planned.  

Photos and Story Submitted by: Captain Wes Barnes

Lakeside Firefighters Battle Well-Involved House Fire

Firefighters faced heavy fire conditions on arrival.

Lakeside, CA -

At about 4am on August 9, 2012,  firefighters from the Lakeside Fire Protection district were dispatched to a residential structure fire on Del Sol road in Lakeside.  After reporting that smoke could be seen from a distance, engine 1 (River station) arrived on and reported to a well-involved residential structure on fire.  Engine 1 firefighters quickly hooked up to a hydrant and deployed hoselines to start cooling the fire from the outside.  Engines 2 and 3 immediately pulled additional hose lines and made an interior attack through the front door.  Firefighters were able to keep the fire from spreading any further into the home and out of the garage and attic.  The occupants had evacuated the home and were outside on arrival.  There were no fatalities but one firefighter was injured from falling roofing material during the incident..  Other losses included 2 vehicles and a travel trailer that had been parked next to the home.  The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.

Lakeside Engine 1 was first on scene just after 4:00 a.m.

Units from Lakeside Fire District included Engine 1, Engine 2, Engine 3, Engine 26, Medic 2, 4106, 4101, and 4140 (Lakeside Logistical Volunteer Group).  Other agencies that assisted were Santee, San Miguel, El Cajon, and Battalion 8 from Barona.

Firefighter knocks down heavy fire as crews prepare for interior attack.

Photos by: Firefighter/Paramedic Steve Russo, Lakeside Fire District
Story By: Engineer/Paramedic Matt Buzzell, Lakeside Fire District