SANTEE GETS A NEW BRUSH FIRE ENGINE

By Mike Allen

Photo: Members of Santee Fire Dept, SD Regional Fire Foundation and the SD River Conservancy with new brush rig funded through the city along with grants from the two nonprofits.

August 11, 2025 (Santee)-- The city of Santee has another key tool in its goal of protecting the city from wildfires, a new brush fire engine.

City officials and the public will get together Aug. 20 for a “push-in” ceremony at Station No. 5 to celebrate the new engine, which was paid mostly from nonprofit grants.

According to the city, the $627,000 fire engine made by HME Inc. was acquired thanks to a $407,000 grant from the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation, and the San Diego River Conservancy. The remainder came from the city’s general fund.

Frank Ault, chairman of the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation, said, “The fire engine will help keep the residents of Santee safe from wildfires, protect the San Diego River, and serve as a regional firefighting asset whenever there is a major wildfire in San Diego County and beyond.”

While Santee has long made fire protection its top priority, the city faced a setback last year when voters rejected a proposed half-cent sales tax increase championed by the labor union representing the city’s fire fighters and unanimously endorsed by the City Council. The tax was supposed to pay for new stations, equipment and personnel.

But the city has continued to keep the fire department as the top recipient of funding in the general fund budget. This fiscal year, the fire and life safety department budget is $22.6 million, up $1.2 million from the prior fiscal year. That makes up about a third of the city’s total budget of $64 million. The next highest allocation, $18.5 million, is for the city’s law enforcement contact with the county’s Sheriff’s Department.