San Miguel Fire

SAN MIGUEL FIRE DISTRICT RESIDENTS SEEK HELP TO SAVE FIRE ENGINE


Sycuan may offer hope for restoring service in Dehesa; Mount Helix could be next to lose fire services

By Miriam Raftery

 


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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 EXPO CANCELLED DUE TO LABOR DISPUTE

 

October 14, 2011 (San Diego's East County) -- The San Miguel Fire District's Fire Expo has been cancelled due to a labor dispute,  district spokesman Leonard Villareal informed ECM this morning.  The event was set for tomorrow at the Rancho San Diego Towne Center.


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BODY FOUND IN SPRING VALLEY APARTMENT FIRE; FOUL PLAY RULED OUT


Sheriff and Hazmat team called to scene

By Miriam Raftery

 

Update October 19, 2011: The San Diego Medical Examiner reports the body was a 65-year old man who died of smoke inhalation.  His identity has not yet been released.

 


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SAN MIGUEL FIRE INVITES PUBLIC TO “SAFE AND SOUND” FIRE EXPO OCT. 15

 

UPDATE:  THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO A LABOR DISPUTE.

 

San Miguel Fire seeks sponsors and door prize donors for event

 

October 8, 2011 (Rancho San Diego) – Bring the family for fun and free activities at the 5th annual Fire Expo at the Rancho San Diego Towne Center on Saturday, October 15 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event features a children’s zone, rescue demonstrations, fire and rescue vehicles, fire safety and health information, law enforcement demonstrations, music, free food and free prize drawings.


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PATRIOT FLAG VISITS RANCHO SAN DIEGO EN ROUTE TO 9/11 TRIBUTE IN NEW YORK


“When the flag came down dozens of people volunteered to help catch and fold it. Some were moved to tears.” – Leonard Villareal, San Miguel Fire Department


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TWO BRUSH FIRES IN SPRING VALLEY; ONE CAUSED BY NATURE, ONE DUE TO NEGLECT

 

September 6, 2011 (Spring Valley)—Two fires briefly threatened homes this evening in Spring Valley. A careless cigarette has been blamed for one blaze, while the other appears to be natural in cause, according to Leonard Villareal, spokesman for the San Miguel Fire District.

 


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SAN MIGUEL FIRE'S CERT TEAM NEEDS VOLUNTEERS: NEXT FREE TRAINING STARTS JULY 23

July 19, 2011 (San Diego's East County) -- San Miguel Fire District invites you to join the San Miguel Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).  

 


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TACTICAL MEDIC TEAM GETS A SAVE FROM MOUNT MIGUEL COVENANT VILLAGE

 

 

 

June 30, 2011 (Spring Valley) -- The Mount Miguel Covenant Village has come to the rescue, helping to save the San Miguel Fire District's Tactical Paramedic program. The continuing budget crisis has impacted District funding for this critical program.


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HEART ATTACK SURVIVOR SAVED BY PASSING NURSE AND FIREFIGHTERS GIVES THANKS TO HIS RESCUERS

Victim found with no pulse, not breathing, and without identification -- hospital traced identity through running shoes and IPOD


June 8, 2011 (Spring Valley ) – “There was no warning. I was just running—and then I woke up in the hospital,” says Grant Fleener, 60, who collapsed from a heart attack suddenly while on his morning run on Sweetwater Springs Blvd. on April 29. Yesterday, he returned to San Miguel Fire Station to thank a passerby,  firefighters and paramedics who all helped saved his life.


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FIREFIGHTERS HALT FIRE AT ROCK QUARRY DESPITE EXPLOSIONS, LACK OF WATER

May 15, 2011 (Spring Valley) – A fire at the McGrath rock quarry resulted in a multi-agency response hindered by explosions from combustibles and ammunition in storage on the site, which had no water access.

“Had this been three weeks later with the brush drying out, we would have also had a wildland fire,” said Battalion Chief Andrew Menshek with San Miguel Fire Department.


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READER'S EDITORIAL: A TALE OF TWO ADJOINING FIRE DEPARTMENTS

 

One spends more than twice as much on employee health insurance--almost one million dollars more

 

By R. Perry

 

March 5, 2011 (San Diego's East County) -- The San Miguel Fire Protection District spends more than twice as much on health benefits for its 96 employees than does the neighboring fire department in El Cajon.

 

In 2009 San Miguel Fire asked voters for a 1.5 million dollar benefit fee. The voters turned them down. The result was the closure of an entire engine company reducing response capability by eleven percent.


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$40,000 FEDERAL GRANT PROVIDES DEFIBRILLATORS TO HELP HEART ATTACK VICTIMS IN SAN MIGUEL FIRE DISTRICT

February 23, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) -- San Miguel Fire District will add 20 Automatic External Defibrillators to its life-saving arsenal.

 

“The addition of the AED’s will provide critical care in a much more expedient manner,” said Leonard Villareal, spokesperson for the District. “Eighty percent San Miguel’s calls are medical aids. This additional equipment will be vital in helping to make such incidents more survivable for all members of the community.”


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FIRE ENGULFS MOTOR HOME IN CASA DE ORO

 

January 26, 2011 (Casa De Oro)--San Miguel Fire Department responded to a motor home fire yesterday just after 2 p.m. in the 9800 block of Estrella Drive.  Firefighters found the older model vehicle fully engulfed in flames that sent up a thick cloud of black smoke that could be seen for miles away. Witnesses reported hearing an explosion during the fire; early indications suggest a propane tank blew up.


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100 MPH CRASH KNOCKS DOWN POWER LINES, TRAPS DRIVER

 

January 26, 2011 (La Presa) - Witnesses say the driver of a high performance sports car was traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour when he lost control, rolled several times and hit hitting a utility pole in the 900 block of Gillespie Drive, San Miguel Fire District's Leonard Villareal reports. The impact snapped the utility pole, dropping the power lines and knocked the vehicle back on its driver’s side door. The vehicle hit with such force the passenger was pinned inside.


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DEPUTY SAVES FAMILY FROM CHRISTMAS MORNING FIRE

 

Home damaged, pets lost in blaze

 

December 25, 2010 (La Presa) – A family of five has been displaced from their home by an early morning fire in the La Presa neighborhood of Spring Valley. But the tragedy could have been far worse if not for the actions of San Diego Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Cruz. On patrol at 4:36 a.m., Cruz spotted smoke at the home in the 700 block of Safford Avenue and began pounding on the door to awaken the sleeping family.


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MAN INJURED IN SPRING VALLEY APARTMENT FIRE AS FIREFIGHTERS SAVE OTHER UNITS

 

December 20, 2010 (Spring Valley)- -San Miguel firefighters used a 100-foot ladder truck to access a third story roof, cutting ventilation holes to control a raging condominium fire that threatened multiple units in the 3000 block of Charwood Drive in Spring Valley just before 4 a.m.

 

Five people were inside the unit when the fire began. One occupant told investigators he was trying to light the fireplace when the lighter flame ignited and there was was a swift explosion, as a ball of flame and embers shot out onto the area rug.


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ELDERLY DRIVER INJURES THREE STUDENTS FROM MOUNT MIGUEL HIGH SCHOOL

December 2, 2010 (Spring Valley) -- San Miguel Firefighters responded in force to a multi-casualty accident which injured a driver and three Mount Miguel High School students who were walking home from school just after 3 p.m. today.  A section of Sweetwater Road was shut down, allowing Mercy Air to transport the most seriously injured student, according to Leonard Villareal, spokesman for San Miguel Fire.


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KIDS GO “NUTS" WITH GIFT FOR LOCAL HEROES

 

December 2, 2010 (Spring Valley)—Firefighters and Sheriff Deputies received a special gift on November 16. Elizabeth Swoyer, a Brownie with Troop 6107, and her brother Nathan, a Webelo Scout, stopped by San Miguel Fire Station 15 in Spring Valley to present firefighters and Sheriff’s officials with the fruits--or rather, nuts--of their their labor.


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FIRE DISPLACES RESIDENTS IN SPRING VALLEY

 

November 29, 2010 (Spring Valley) – A mother with two children smelled smoke and discovered her bed on fire this morning. Fortunately, the family as well as two guests all evacuated safely from the duplex apartment, located in the 3100 block of Bernis Court in Spring Valley.


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HEATED CONTESTS FOR FIRE, WATER AND PLANNING BOARDS YIELD SOME UPSETS


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HOW PREPARED IS OUR REGION FOR FIRE? ASK CHIEF GHIO--NOV. 13 IN LA MESA

 

October 30, 2010 (La Mesa) -- The East San Diego County League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women are co-sponsoring a meeting with Augie Ghio, Fire Chief of San Miguel Fire Protection District.

 

The meeting will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 13, 2010, at the Helix Water District Boardroom, 7811 University Avenue, La Mesa.


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BEST EAST COUNTY PHOTOS

 

 October 22, 2010

No kidding! Youngsters had a great time at the San Miguel Fire open house in Spring Valley earlier this month, where this boy got a close-up look at goats owned by Johnny Gonzalez; the four-footed brush clearing team is used to create firebreaks in East County’s rural areas. Photo by Miriam Raftery.

“My son grew up here in Boulevard and loves what God gave us,” wrote reader Leslie Mauris, who submitted this photo of boulders balanced as if by divine design.

 

Scroll down to see more amazing images of East County.....


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SAN MIGUEL FIRE HOSTS FIRE SAFETY COMMUNITY FAIR OCT. 9

September 27, 2010 (Rancho San Diego) – Fire station tours, fire safety demonstrations, and a children’s fun activity dinner are among the activities planned for this year’s Fire Safety Community Fair and open house. This free event will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 9th at the San Miguel Fire Station #22, 11501 Via Rancho San Diego in the Rancho San Diego area of El Cajon.

 

This "hot"event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the San Miguel Regional Firesafe Council, Rancho San Diego-Jamul Chamber of Commerce, and community partners including East County Magazine and the Viejas Wildfire & Emergency Alerts.


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FIREFIGHTERS ASK PUBLIC TO “FILL THE BOOT” FOR JERRY’S KIDS

 

August 25, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Local firefighters will be participating in the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s annual “Fill the Boot” campaign, raising money to help find a cure for the crippling disease. On September 2, watch for local firefighters stationed around the County to coincide with the annual Labor Day telethon hosted by actor Jerry Lewis for muscular dystrophy.

 


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ARSON SUSPECTED IN SPRING VALLEY FIRE

 

 

July 25, 2010 (Spring Valley) -- Boots on the ground and helicopters in the air worked together to keep a fast-moving brush fire at nine acres in the Dictionary Hill area. While 25 homes on the north side of Grand Avenue were ordered evacuated, no structures were damaged and no injuries reported. Cause of the fire is under investigation; however San Miguel Fire officials say it is “suspicious” in nature.


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PRESCHOOL EVACUATED DUE TO BRUSH FIRE: ARSON SUSPECTED

 

June 17, 2010 (Spring Valley) – The KinderCare preschool was evacuated today due to a brush fire that began shortly before 1 p.m. Firefighters From San Miguel Fire quickly got the blaze under control, which began near 10130 Rothgard Road in Spring Valley. Investigators say the fire was arson.

 

The fire, which also threatened several structures around a canyon area, was stopped as it moved onto the playground area. On another flank, the fire was stopped as it moved into a defensible space buffer created just yesterday by a resident.


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SAN MIGUEL FIRE VOTES NOT TO CUT NUMBER OF BOARD MEMBERS OR BENEFITS; CHIEF PRESENTS OTHER OPTIONS

 

San Miguel Fire District has voted 4-2 against putting a ballot measure on the ballot to reduce the number of board members from seven to five. Members Clark and Jackson voted in favor; Johnston, Augustine, Rickards and Winters voted against. Board member Brainard was absent. Clark, Winter and Augustine have seats up for reelection this fall.

Chief August Ghio said the board weighed information from its attorney, an impassioned plea from a member of the public who spoke against reducing the board, and impacts on the board’s ability to serve the public in making its decision.


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ATTENDANCE SPARSE AS SAN MIGUEL FIRE WEIGHS BUDGET CRISIS OPTIONS

 

By Miriam Raftery

 

June 10, 2010 (Spring Valley) – Only ten area residents showed up at a June 3rd meeting convened by San Miguel Fire to discuss a budget crisis facing the District. Chief August Ghio presented a Power Point presentation. Several residents offered suggestions for the District to pare back expenses, said public information officer Leonard Villareal.

 

Those suggestions included:


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SAN MIGUEL FIRE TO CONSIDER REDUCING SIZE OF BOARD

 

June 9, 2010 (Spring Valley) – At tomorrow night’s meeting, San Miguel Fire District will consider reducing the size of its board from seven to five members. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the District’s headquarters at 2850 Via Orange Way in Spring Valley.


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