San Miguel Fire Board

ALPINE FIRE CAPTAIN AND SAN MIGUEL FIRE BOARD MEMBER MIKE VACIO INJURED IN WEST FIRE

 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo via Facebook

July 8, 2018 (Alpine) — An Alpine Fire Department crew, the first to arrive at the West Fire in Alpine on Friday, swiftly found themselves surrounded by flames and narrowly managed to escape.  The scorching flames were so hot that they melted tires on the fire engine, 10 news reports.


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HEATED DISCUSSION ABOUT STATION 19 AT SAN MIGUEL FIRE BOARD MEETING

By Kendra Sitton

August 16, 2017 (Spring Valley) -- Finding a new home for Bostonia’s Station 19 dominated the San Miguel Consolidated Fire Protection District Board meeting on Aug. 9.

Upon a motion by Director McKenna, seconded by Director Kim Raddatz, the board voted unanimously to direct the Fire Chief to hire a consultant to plan, direct and oversee the due diligence processes and respective timelines, and make recommendations back to the Board on options for placement of a short-term and/or permanent fire station at 657 E. Bradley, El Cajon.


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SAN MIGUEL FIRE BOARD RECALL UP IN SMOKE

 

By Miriam Raftery

End of recall effort means district will proceed with cancelling Cal Fire contract in July and return to free-standing status

April 3, 2017 (Spring Valley) – A petition to recall three members of the San Miguel Consolidated Fire District board  has been axed by Registrar of Voters Michael Vu for failing to comply with formatting requirements. The proponent, Robert Cederdahl, a former member of the board in the 1990s, did not submit amended forms by deadline, so the recall effort is up in smoke before any petitions were circulated for signatures.


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CAL FIRE SLATE WINS 3 OF 4 SEATS IN SAN MIGUEL FIRE BOARD RACE

 

By Miriam Raftery

November 12, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – In July, San Miguel’s Fire Board voted by a slim one-vote margin to cancel its contract with CAL FIRE a year early and go back to being a free-standing district, but kept the action on hold pending outcome of the election.


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HEAR OUR HOT INTERVIEWS: SAN MIGUEL FIRE BOARD CANDIDATES

 

By Miriam Raftery

November 4, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – The future of the San Miguel Fire District hangs in the balance.  Should San Miguel keep its contract with Cal-Fire or return to being a stand-alone district, as the current board recently voted by a slim margin?  We interviewed a representative from  each of the two slates running for our East County Magazine Radio Show on KNSJ. Listen now by clicking the orange audio link.

 In this heated session,  incumbent Bill  Kiel, a retired engineer, makes the case for staying with Cal-Fire, while retired fire chief Kim Raddatz argues for giving Cal-Fire the boot and returning to an independent district.  Each side claims their position will be best for taxpayers and public safety.  One side is backed by Cal-Fire firefighters, the other by leaders of the former San Miguel firefighters.

Audio: 

San Miguel Fire interviews: Kim Raddatz and Bill Kiel, candidate slate representatives

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DUELING SLATES VIE FOR SAN MIGUEL FIRE BOARD: ALL 9 CANDIDATES SPEAK OUT AT HEATED CANDIDATE FORUM IN CREST

 

By Miriam Raftery

October 20, 2016 (Crest) – The stakes are high in the San Miguel Fire Board race. In July, the board majority voted to axe a contract that outsourced firefighting to Cal Fire, entered into back when property tax revenues had plummeted in the recession and the district had shut down a fire station.  Now four candidates want to undo the recent vote and keep the deal with Cal Fire, while four others are running to restore local control.  The ninth candidate says he hasn’t made up his mind.  There are four seats up for grabs.

All nine appeared at a candidate forum tonight in Crest, a town that burned in the 2003 fires and where residents pay a higher assessment for fire services than any other fire district locally.


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SAN MIGUEL FIRE VOTES TO OPEN FINANCE COMMITTEE TO PUBLIC, PRESS

East County News Service

February 26, 2015 (Spring Valley) – As a result of an East County Magazine (ECM) inquiry, San Miguel Fire District’s Board voted this week to make its finance committee a permanent standing committee, which means that the committee’s meetings will now be open to the press and public.

Previously, the finance committee was deemed an ad-hoc committee by the district, which argued that it did not need to allow public access.  ECM contacted Californians Aware (CALAWARE), an organization that protects public access under Califoirnia’s sunshine laws.


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CAL FIRE CHIEF DISPUTES CANDIDATE STATEMENTS IN SAN MIGUEL FIRE RACE

 

By Miriam Raftery

October 22, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)—CAL FIRE Tony Mecham, head of the County Fire Authority,  has contacted East County Magazine to dispute statements and factual claims made by two candidates running for the San Miguel Fire District Board in their responses to our candidate questionnaire.  

Chief Mecham states that he is not endorsing any candidate but adds, “There are numerous statements that are factually false.”


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SAN MIGUEL FIRE BOARD RACE IS HOT

 

Updated October 22, 2014 - CAL FIRE Chief Tony Meacham, head of the County Fire Authority, has written to dispute statements made by two candidates in this race, which he says are "factually false."  You can read details of the Chief's statements here

By Nadin Abbott

October 18, 2014 (San Diego)--In 2012, the San Miguel Fire Board voted for CAL FIRE to take over firefighting operations. The board voted unanimously for the five-year contract because the agency was deep in a hole economically and had already closed a fire station. Those in favor argued that this decision would allow the board to continue operations, recover financially, reopen the closed station and keep service at comparable levels. But critics including at least one challenger running for the board have sharply criticized the deal with Cal-Fire,  citing loss of local control and potential delays in response times, also faulting other board actions.

East County Magazine e-mailed questions to all candidates, including inquiries about the CAL FIRE arrangement and a letter the district received from the State Comptroller raising questions over the board’s finances.

The six candidates include two incumbents (Chris Winter and Rick Augustine) seeking reelection and four challengers. Three of the challengers are running together as a slate (Theresa McKenna, Jim Ek, and Mike Vacio). The other challenger is Cindy Croucher. Bios for incumbents Winter and Augustine are available on the San Miguel Fire district website

Three candidates, challengers Theresa McKenna and Jim Ek, along with incumbent Chris Winter, have responded.  Below are the questions, and their answers, posted in full in the order received.


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SAN MIGUEL FIRE TO WEIGH WEED ORDINANCE THAT COULD DECLARE MAJORITY OF NATIVE VEGETATION A PUBLIC NUISANCE

 

Chaparral Institute objects to ordinance due to potential environmental impacts and possible abuse of citizens' rights

By Miriam Raftery

April 5, 2014 (San Miguel) San Miguel Fire Board meets on April 9 at 5:30 in the fire station at 2850 Via Orange Way in Spring Valley. This week the board will consider an ordinance allowing the board to declare waste and certain vegetation a public nuisance – including  potentially the majority of native vegetation in the district.


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HOT FIRE BOARD RACES IN EAST COUNTY: FIRED CHIEF WINS SEAT ON BOARD IN LAKESIDE, 2 NEW FACES ADDED TO SAN MIGUEL BOARD, PLUS MORE LOCAL RESULTS

By Janis Mork

November 7, 2012 (san Diego)- In the hotly contested Lakeside Fire District, former Lakeside fire chief Mark Baker captured 39.6% of the vote while fire captain/paramedic/ and board director Jim Bingham clinched 36.6%, beating out challengers.

There has been controversy over these two figures, since Bingham voted to fire Baker as Chief, a move that sparked a backlash among community members and questions of influence by firefighting union members on the board. (http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/11356). Nonetheless, these two will have to set aside their differences and work together in this district, where some of East County’s largest wildfires have occurred.


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JOHN REVELS WANTS VOTERS IN SAN MIGUEL FIRE DISTRICT TO HAVE A CHOICE ON RESTORING INDEPENDENCE FROM CAL-FIRE

By Janis Mork

October 16, 2012 (Spring Valley)- Civil engineer John Revels is running for the San Miguel Fire Board. In an exclusive interview with East County Magazine, he shared his views on his candidacy and the future of the fire district.

Revels was motivated to run because, “I got a flyer of what was going on at San Miguel fire board. I have nothing against Cal Fire; they are a great organization. I wanted to keep San Miguel independent as it’s always been [before the merger with Cal Fire]. So a year ago, I started attending meetings and talking to people, and I also went to meetings to speak to the board at Cuyamaca College.”


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RANDY DIBB WANTS TO BRING CHANGE TO SAN MIGUEL FIRE BOARD

By Janis Mork

October 11, 2012 (Spring Valley)- Retiree Randy Dibb wants to run for the San Miguel fire board because he has “concern for the district” and wants to bring “changes.” His values include satisfying the needs of the constituents coupled with the dramatic changes in the way the district does business, and putting together a viable budget within the current concerns of the district.


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KARRIE JOHNSTON SCULLY STANDS BY DECISIONS, SEEKS RE-ELECTION TO SAN MIGUEL FIRE BOARD

By Janis Mork

October 8, 2012 (Spring Valley)- Incumbent Karrie Johnston Scully hopes to get re-elected to the San Miguel fire board this November. In an exclusive interview with ECM, she shares her goals which include holding Cal Fire accountable for promises made when the Board voted to outsource services to the state fire agency.


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WILLIAM KIEL WANTS TO GET INTO A SAVINGS MODE FOR SAN MIGUEL FIRE BOARD

By Janis Mork

October 4, 2012 (Spring Valley) - San Miguel fire board recently voted to outsource all fire services to Cal Fire. There are six candidates running for four seats on the board. Other candidates include retiree Randy Dibb, incumbent board members Karrie Johnston Scully, fire captain/paramedic David Rickards, civil engineer John Revels, and college educator/businessman Dan McMillan. View a map of the district: http://www.smgfire.org/district-map. Below is a profile on retired civil engineer William Kiel.


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SCORCHED: SAN MIGUEL FIRE BOARD VOTES TO ELIMINATE FIRE PROTECTION AT DEHESA STATION, IMPOSE STEEP CUTS TO FIREFIGHTERS’ BENEFITS

By Miriam Raftery

“This is a shame and an embarrassment.” – La Mesa Councilman David Allen, former San Miguel Firefighter


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SAN MIGUEL FIRE DISTRICT MOVES TO ELIMINATE FIRE ENGINES FROM DEHESA STATION

 

Labor dispute also heats up; Oct. 26 and 27 meetings set as budget woes deepen

 

By Miriam Raftery

 

October 20, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Residents in the Dehesa area of unincorporated El Cajon will be losing a firefighting structure engine and a wildland fire engine due starting November 1.

 

In addition, a three-man engine will be replaced by a two-man paramedic crew—a situation that the San Miguel Firefighters Association (SMFA) contends on its website is “unsafe” but that the District contends is necessary due to dwindling property tax revenues that fund firefighting services.


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