Hometown Newspaper of Valley Center, Pauma Valley, Pala, Palomar Mountain & North Escondido since 1974

By David Ross | on November 22, 2022

The Valley Center Fire Department has had considerable community interaction in the last month, said Fire Chief Napier in his report to the Valley Center Fire Protection District (VCFPD) board on November 17.

This included tours from kindergarten to 12th grade. And a high school career day in October, and districtwide the Great American Shakeout earthquake drill. Firefighters participated in a charity dinner and ice cream social. “We’re having a really intimate relationship back in full swing with our community now that COVID is over. It gives us the ability to really give people to understand how we operate and all the things we do in our community,” said Napier.

The ALS program enables the district to deploy CPR Compression Devices donated by Terra Gen and the Neighborhood Reinvestment Grant through County Supervisor Jim Desmond’s office. The $88,000 grants from each—a total of $176,000—helped buy four devices. 

They are deployed at locations such as Valley View Casino in the EMS office. They are carried on all VC fire engines. VCFPD and Valley View have the same machines, which can keep a patient alive in the ambulance. “In the event we have a patient who has a machine on at the casino we could take that machine, leave it on the patient and leave our machine behind so they can use it in case they get another cardiac arrest,” said the chief. In the end they would swap out the devices and the department would get its original back.

Napier said the community might have seen many fire engines recently at the Station 3 site on Cole Grade Road practicing hose lays and cutting line.

“It was an excellent drill. All agencies in the valley participated, including Cal Fire,” said Napier. “It was a great learning opportunity for a wide variety of different firefighters who maybe have a cut line before but maybe haven’t yet had the opportunity to be in a command and control situation.”

Note: “Cutting a line” is using hand tools to “cut a containment line” between the burn area and unburned area. It is usually performed by hand crews but is a skill all firefighters need if crews are unavailable or responding from great distances.

Cal Fire/County Fire has lifted the burn proclamation. “We’re easing into the burning. From 8 a.m. till noon you can burn with a permit,” said Napier. Permits are issued through Cal Fire, which also does inspections. “If anybody  burns outside the parameters of the permit Cal Fire or VC Fire Protection District can pull that permit and decide later whether to reissue it.”

New Knox Vaults are now installed at VC schools. They allow first responders to enter campuses without obtaining keys from the schools. “This is part of an ongoing process to be prepared for potentially any type of emergency at schools—but really to be prepared for the potential of a shooter on school grounds,” said Napier. 

The district has started to have meetings related to developing its temporary third station, on Cole Grade Road.

Recently staff members of the department and Valley Center Municipal Water District met to discuss the station’s water utility plan. It will have a meter measuring what it uses for training and for filling apparatuses—at no cost, as water used for public good isn’t charged. The station will include a domestic water meter for normal water use, which will be charged.

Napier said they were donated a commercial Viking stove, large commercial oven and commercial refrigerator for the station.

“I don’t know we will be able to use the refrigerator because it’s so tall but if we can’t use it we’ll sell it and use the money to buy something we can use,” he said.

Every Tuesday staff and contractors hold the Valley Center Fire Protection District Design Meeting for Temporary Fire Station No. 3 and Remodel Work at Fire Stations 1 and 2. Besides the chief, Scott Duncan Operations Chief, Brandon Hamlett of the construction firm Erickson-Hall and Kelley Needham of PBK attend. 

Recently, Hamlett told the group:

Following the kick off meeting with the VCMWD, Water District staff reviewed the meter at the Harmony Grove Fire Station and indicated that it is not acceptable and that an in line meter will be required to measure the flow to the on-site fire hydrant.

– The Civil Engineer is incorporating comments from VCMWD into the Civil plans.

– The Electrical Engineer is working on specifying the required generator size. 

Some fire board members were concerned at delays in the process.  Director Charlotte Seaborne commented, “On Station 3, one of the challenges I have when I look at the report is that some of the information is very subjective. As they’ll just make a comment that would follow up on XYZ which doesn’t have a date so it’s difficult to put things in context. My question is:  do they have a project plan we could get a summary level on—so that when they say this will be done by XYZ we know it is ahead of schedule or behind schedule? So there are no surprises and we’re tracking where they are and where they should be.”

Napier said one “unknown” is how long it takes the County’s permitting process to complete. 

Director Michael O’Connor asked why no director sits in on those meetings. 

“Because this has been a staff project,” answered the chief. They meet weekly and give updated reports, “and there wasn’t really a need to have a board member.”

O’Connor insisted it would be good to have a director at the meetings and that director Gina Roberts be that member. 

Roberts agreed with Seaborne that they are not getting enough information on this process. “We don’t have that in front of us. We can’t track what they are doing because they are doing everything serially.” She noted they are four months behind. “I’d really like to see some corrective action happen,” she said.

She said she is available on Tuesdays. “I offered to come and help and be a strong arm if you need one. I know that you, chief, have a long term relationship with this team and you don’t want to disrupt it. But you need to shake up the roller a little bit and get the estimates that were promised.”

O’Connor agreed that the meetings were a staff function, “but we’re the board and we want to see this station get moving.” 

It was agreed that Roberts would attend future meetings. 

Some VC Fire Explorers are departing the program, leaving their numbers at seven or eight. “As we approach the New Year  we’ll be going to the high school and doing more recruiting,” said the chief.

At the recent Evacuation Subcommittee meeting they discussed possibly working with the city of Escondido to develop an evacuation route on city-owned land at the end of their Daley Ranch easement that traverses the city property just south of the Deer Springs property border. The easement continues to Cougar Lane. 

“This might be an opportunity for us to cross the city of Escondido’s property in a straight line without worrying about private property,” said Napier. This might require a CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) review, “and it’s going to take some time to do those things. But it gives us an opportunity to create an evacuation route that looks fairly level. It looks like it we can make it happen and control it with the gates on either side.” This could also benefit the city by giving it a roadway where it could send fire trucks, he said.

“I think that would be a phenomenal evacuation route. We just have  to do some work to do to make that happen.” Currently there is no way to put a paved road through to I-15. It would require creating a dirt road city on Escondido property. When asked who would pay for this, Napier said, “Hopefully the County would.” The County has a “vested interest” in improving the evacuation route. “I think they’re starting to hear that we need more bypasses.” He added, “There’s no great way to get directly to I-15 without going through private property. But if you use the city of Escondido’s property that’s conjoined with Daley Ranch and you get to Cougar pass and put gates on either end of it and lock it down for emergency vehicle traffic— I think that’s a good compromise.”

Board member Mike O’Connor commented: “That area has been that way for sixty years and they haven’t done anything to it. Those residents aren’t going to allow that—so it’s going to be one hell of a fight!”

In other news, the Fire Dept. will have its annual Christmas party December 3, 5-8 p.m. at VC Community Church Multipurpose Room, a new facility. Napier has already purchased the turkeys.

December 9, firefighters will participate in Christmas in the Valley from 5-8 p.m. at Bates Nut Farm. An engine will provide transportation for Santa Claus. 

February 7 the department will host its “All Hands Meeting” at  Fire Station 1. There will be a discussion of the district’s successes and strategic plan. “It’s always a great conversation,” said the chief. “We hope everybody takes the opportunity to be there so our firefighters can see all of us together singing from the same hymnal.”

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