firefighters

FIREFIGHTERS' MENTAL HEALTH IS AT RISK. A CALIFORNIA BILL COULD HELP

By Julie Cart, CalMatters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters

Photo:  Cal Fire dispatcher Ali Wiseman and Captain Hiram Vazquez embrace during a healing session at a trauma retreat in Desert Hot Springs. Photo by Ariana Drehsler for CalMatters

June 4, 2023 (Sacramento) - A state Senate bill that would expand workers’ compensation coverage for California first responders experiencing post traumatic stress — aimed at addressing what Cal Fire officials call a mental health crisis — has cleared its first legislative hurdle and been sent to the Assembly.


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OVERWORKED CALIFORNIA FIREFIGHTERS STRUGGLE WITH PTSD, SUICIDE, FATIGUE, INTENSIFYING WILDFIRES

By Julie Cart, CalMatters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters

Photo:  A Cal Fire employee tries to comfort another participant during a healing retreat at the Nurturing Nest in Desert Hot Springs on Feb. 25, 2022. Photo by Ariana Drehsler for CalMatters

September 10, 2022 (San Diego) - The morning sun warms California’s high desert, launching a clear spring day. Behind high walls at The Nurturing Nest, across from a burbling mineral pool, a small group of men and women roll up yoga mats and arrange themselves in a semi-circle. Their week at this tranquil retreat is ending and a counselor seeks final thoughts from each of them.


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TWO HEARTLAND FIREFIGHTERS INJURED IN EL CAJON HOUSE FIRE

"Thirteen homes around the hill of a one-way cul-de-sac were saved.  God Bless the neighbor who called us, God Bless the fireman and first responders."--Dolores E. Landers
 
By Miriam Raftery
 
Photo courtesy of ECM news partner 10 News
 
 
April 1, 2020 (El Cajon) – Updated April 3:  A burning section of a home collapsed early this morning, trapping two Heartland Fire & Rescue firefighters, ECM news partner 10 News reports.
 
Two fireifghters were taken to a hospital, and have since been releaesed, a neighbor has informed ECM. 

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COMMUNITY SUPPORT PROGRAM DELIVERS ESSENTIAL ITEMS TO FIREFIGHTERS ON THE FRONT LINES

East County News Service

Augut 12, 2019 (San Diego) - Would you like to support your local firefighters when they need it most? If so, check out the Firefighter Go Bag Community Support Program a California based company is offering.  

FireMom.com’s Community Support Program delivers all of the health, hygiene, and nutritional items that are truly unique to firefighters’ needs, when they’re out fighting fires for days at a time, in one convenient Go Bag.

When you purchase bags from the program, FireMom.com delivers them directly to the fire departments that need them the next time a large fire happens. The program ensures firefighters get the supplies they need in a complete kit, with no lag time, or trying to piecemeal items together.  


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FURLOUGHED FEDERAL FIREFIGHTER REINVENTS THE DAILY GRIND

 

 

By Logan Knight  

February 14, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) -- “What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question virtually every American child is asked from the time he or she begins talking. They are continually asked this question until adulthood, when the question becomes, What do you do for a living?”


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SAN DIEGO ZOO SAFARI PARK TEAMS UP WITH CAL COAST CREDIT UNION TO GIVE BACK TO LOCAL FIREFIGHTERS

 

Source:  Cal Coast Credit Union

August 30, 2018 (San Diego) - California Coast Credit Union and San Diego Zoo Global have partnered on a promotion thanking area firefighters with free admission to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.  Firefighters and up to three guests will receive free one-day admission during the month of September.


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CORY IVERSON'S WIDOW TO GRIEVING FIREFIGHTERS: "USE THIS NIGHTMARE TO HELP OTHERS"

 

By Ken Stone, originally published in Times of San Diego, a San Diego Online News Association member

December 24, 2017 (San Diego) - Ashley Iverson slowly inhaled. Then she let out a long breath in front of 1,800 mourners with their hearts in their throats.

“Just breathe is what I told one of my best friends when she lost her soulmate at the age of 22,” Iverson said at Saturday’s private memorial service for her firefighter husband Cory at The Rock Church in Liberty Station.


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CAL FIRE INCREASES STAFFING IN PREPARATION FOR SANTA ANA WINDS

 

Source: CAL FIRE

October 20, 2017 (San Diego) -- As Firefighters in Northern California continue to make progress on 9 large wildfires burning across the State, the true magnitude of the devastation of loss of life and property is beginning to come to life.  This recent series of fires is the deadliest in California State History. Since the start of the October Fire Siege on October 8, there have been 21 major wildfires that burned over 245,000 acres, forced 100,000 people to evacuate, destroyed 6,900 structures and sadly took the lives of 42 people.    


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FIREFIGHTERS GEAR UP FOR FIRE SEASON AT WILDLAND FIRE EXCERISES

 

By Miriam Raftery

Photos by Jeff Holz at Equestrian Center in Santee

April 21, 2017 (Santee) — San Diego County Fire Chiefs, along with fire agencies across the region, held their annual wildland fire preparedness exercises April 19-21 in Santee and Tierrasanta to prepare for the upcoming fire season.


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GOVERNOR SIGNS GONZALEZ BILL REQUIRING NOTIFICATION WHEN AN ARSONIST WHO MURDERED A FIREFIGHTER SEEKS PAROLE

 

By Miriam Raftery

August 23, 2016 (Sacramento) – A new law will require notification of a murdered firefighter’s former fire department when the convicted arsonist seeks parole. Assembly Bill 898, authored by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) was signed into law by the Governor today.


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SUSPECT ARRESTED AFTER BURGLARIZING VEHICLES AT LA MESA FIRE STATION

 

July 29, 2014 (La Mesa)--Firefighters from La Mesa’s Station 12 called police yesterday at 5:51 p.m. to report finding a man in their secure parking area who was burglarizing their personal vehicles.  As La Mesa Police officers responded, the suspect ran away and hid in the garage of a nearby home – where he began stealing items in the garage.


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FROM THE FIRE CHIEF'S CORNER: IS THAT A HAZARDOUS MATERIALS INCIDENT OR THE FLU?

 

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

March 17, 2014 (San Diego)--During a hazardous materials incident, firefighters and first responders isolate the area and deny entry to keep it contained.  The same goes if you have the flu.  Both are toxic and pose an unreasonable risk to our Health, Safety and Environment!  Isolate yourself and stay away from others because it spreads through contamination.


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PHOTO OF THE WEEK: FIRE IN RANCHO SAN DIEGO

 

February 23, 2014 (Rancho San Diego) – Jennifer Hanna snapped these images of a brush fire behind her home on Sunday, February 16.  The blaze, near Fury and Wieghorst in the Rancho San Diego area of El Cajon, was swiftly dowsed by firefighters.


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AUTHOR TELLS OF WOMEN'S BRAVERY FOLLOWING 9/11 TERROR ATTACK

 

By Don Harrison

August 8, 2013 (El Cajon) – In the shock that followed the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., partners Mary Carouba and Susan Hagen sat stunned across the country in California.  After a while it dawned on them that whenever they turned on the television, there were news stories and other acknowledgments about the men who were the first responders at the World Trade Center.  Always the men.  Weren’t there any women there?

Carouba recalled that New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, standing on the rubble of the World Trade Center, asked for a round of applause for “the men we lost” as well as for those other men who helped people to survive the collapse of the Twin Towers.  Later, President George W. Bush came to the site of the tragedy to praise “all the men,” Carouba related to a convocation of classified employees Thursday, Aug. 1, at Grossmont College.


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PHOTOS OF THE YEAR 2012

December 31, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – A photo is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes. East County Magazine’s photographers and readers have compiled an impressive portfolio of dramatic images this year. These are our editor’s picks for the photos that create an emotional chord, from inspiration to anguish. We deeply appreciate our professional photojournalists and citizen photographers who helped document the images that defined the news and character of our region this year.

 

 


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DOG FOUND IN BURNING HOME DIES DESPITE CPR

December 27, 2012 (La Mesa)—A fire that began in or near a wall heater yesterday morning swiftly engulfed a granny flat in the 8400 block of Sunrise Avenue.  After a neighbor reported the blaze, Heartland Fire & Rescue crews arrived within five minutes.  

Firefighters stretched hose lines inside the building to aggressively fight the fire, while other crews vented the structure to allow smoke and hot gases to escape.  The blaze was doused within 10 minutes and firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to neighboring buildings. 


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VIGILANT CITIZEN HELPS SAVE NEIGHBORS’ LIVES

December 25, 2012 (Spring Valley)--A woman working on her computer looked out her window to see smoke pouring out a window of her neighbor’s home across the street yesterday afternoon. She sought help of another neighbor and tried to alert the couple inside unit 206 at the Sweetwater Lodge Mobile Home Park, 10707 Jamacha Road, but there was no response. The neighbors opened a front door and were slammed by a huge wall of hot smoke. They called 911 and within minutes after the 12:18 pm call, firefighters from San Miguel Fire District were on scene.


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FROM THE CHIEFS CORNER: MOVE RIGHT FOR SIRENS AND LIGHTS

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

December 5, 2012 (San Diego) -- During this busy time of year, there are more and more people on the road now than ever before. This is the “season” and we will likely be spending more time ourselves shopping, traveling, attending gatherings and rushing about during this time. This is when accidents occur as we have many distractions. If you or someone you love is in need of emergency assistance, you want help to arrive immediately.


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SHOCKEY FIRE RESIDENTS RETURN

By Nadin Abbott

Photos by Tom and Nadin Abbott

September 26, 2012 (Boulevard)—Around  five in the afternoon, as the sun was starting to set, the first residents of Boulevard’s Tierra del Sol neighborhood began  to come home. There was anxiety in some faces, as well as relief on others, as they learned what state their properties were in –and whether their homes had survived the devastating 2,850 acre Shockey Fire that destroyed 11 homes and claimed the life of an elderly man.


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READER’S EDITORIAL: COUNTY FIRE POLICY: LET IT BURN

 

 
San Diego County will unnecessarily lose hundreds of homes to wildfires this fall: An open letter to Cities' Councilmen, Supervisors, local State legislators, and activist groups
 
By John Scanlon
 
August 13, 2012 (San Diego)-- The Problem – We are past due for a repeat of the major fires in 2003 and 2007. There is an abundance of fuel in the back country after five years w/o a major fire. We are now in a very active fire season. July was the hottest it has been in the lower 48 since 1895. We continue to be grossly underfunded and under-prepared at all levels to handle another catastrophic fire season.

 


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PUPPY WAKES FAMILY TO FIRE, BUT DIES AS FIVE PEOPLE EVACUATE

 
No Working Smoke Detector
 
July 13, 2012 (Spring Valley) --  San Miguel Firefighters responded to a fully involved mobile home fire located in the 10700 block of Jamacha Blvd. Units were dispatched at 8:45 a.m. Thursday and even though the first unit was on scene in 6 minutes, the double wide mobile home could not be saved. In addition to the home, two vehicles were destroyed and another vehicle damaged.

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FROM THE CHIEF'S CORNER: STRUCTURE TRIAGE DURING WILDFIRES

 

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna
East County Magazine “In-House” Fire Chief
June 28, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--The last couple issues we discussed how you as a homeowner living in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) can create defensible space as fire season truly is “year – round.”

 


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PASSAGE OF PROPS A AND B DEAL BLOWS TO LOCAL WORKERS

 
Unions head to court over Prop B Pension cuts
 
By Nadin Abbott
Photographs Tom Abbott and Nadin Abbott
 
June 15, 2012 (San Diego)—Approval by voters of Proposition B, which eliminates guaranteed pensions for many city employees, has drawn praise from conservatives and sharp criticism from labor. So has Prop A, which eliminates Project Labor Agreements for construction projects on city property. 

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READER’S EDITORIAL: IT’S TIME FOR SAN DIEGANS TO STEP UP AND REJECT DIVISIVE ELECTION YEAR POLITICS

 
By Pat Zaharopoulos, President of the Middle-Class Tax Payers Association
May 24, 2012 (San Diego) -- Not long ago the public praised San Diego firefighters and other first-responders for protecting our lives and property from the wildfires that raged across our county. Today the taxpaying public stands to lose as all of our city employees are being pushed aside by politicians attempting to further their own ambitions with ballot Proposition B.

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FIREFIGHTER BOOT DRIVE TUESDAY

 
April 2, 2012 (El Cajon) -- Tomorrow,  April  3rd,  firefighters  across  the  county  will  be  at  various intersections collecting donations for the Burn Institute’s “Give Burns The Boot” fundraiser.  Money raised benefits the Burn Institute’s burn prevention programs in the County.
 
Firefighters  from  Heartland  Fire  &  Rescue  in  El  Cajon,  will  be  at  the intersection of Greenfield Drive and East Main Street from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. collecting donations!

 


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LAKESIDE FIREFIGHTERS RESCUE TRAPPED DOG

 

 
February 17, 2012 (Lakeside) – Toby, a Shiba Inu dog belonging to Lakeside resident Tim Ellis and his wife is free, thanks to the efforts of Lakeside firefighters.  While chasing a squirrel, the dog got its head caught between rocks in an artificial waterfall. 

 


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EL CAJON FIRE SAFETY & CAREER EXPO

 
 
 
October 2, 2011 (El Cajon) -- The El Cajon Fire Department is holding a safty and career expo on Saturday, October 8 at 100 East Lexington Avenue in El Cajon from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. There will be a special tribute at noon for firefighters, police, and military heros.
 

During the day, many activities will be available for family fun as well as teaching the public how to be safe and prepared for a fire or other emergency.


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EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: JULY 14, 2011

 

 

 

July 14, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and our region, published in other media. Latest Roundup headlines include:

 

  • County may enact tiered ordinance for small horse operations (Santee Patch)
  • El Cajon reaches agreement with police (San Diego Union-Tribune)
  • Quiet council settles with Firefighters (La Mesa Today)
  • Schools’ financial watchdog stripped of powers (Voice of San Diego)
  • Legislators to introduce Caylee’s Law in wake of murder case (Sacramento)
  • Local openly gay troops begin reenlisting (10 News)
  • Fact check: Bill Horn’s bogus civil rights story (Voice of San Diego)
  • Bid filed to end collective bargaining for state employees (Sacramento Bee)
  • A Sweetwater resource, but there’s some salt in the mix (Groksurf San Diego)
  • UC cashing in with out of state tuitions (San Diego Union-Tribune)
  • Powerlink plagued by eagle issues, tower drops (San Diego Union-Tribune)
  • A sculpture garden grows in the desert (San Diego Union-Tribune)
 

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APARTMENT FIRE IN CASA DE ORO KEPT TO ONE UNIT

 

 

May 17, 2011 (Casa De Oro) -- A fast and effective attack allowed San Miguel firefighters to extinguish a fire that started in the kitchen of an upstairs apartment unit in the Casa De Oro area across the street from Spring Valley Middle School. Fire damage was confined to that single unit.

 

Crews were called to the Helix Square Apartments on the 3800 block of Conrad Drive at 11:21 a.m., Monday. The fire was considered knocked down ten minutes later. Inside the residence at the time of the fire was one adult male who evacuated the upstairs apartment, but was treated on the scene for smoke inhalation. He was later transported to Grossmont Hospital.


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NEW LAW ALLOWS FIREFIGHTERS & OTHER EMERGENCY WORKERS TO VOTE WHERE THEY SERVE

 

November 4, 2009 (Sacramento) -- Beginning next year, firefighters, medics, and others responding to state emergencies will be able to vote wherever they are serving, thanks to the Governor's signature on Assembly Bill 1440 (Swanson), which Secretary of State Debra Dowen sponsored in the Legislature.


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