San Diego Fire-Rescue Department

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFRD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of San Diego, California, United States.[2] The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department is currently the second largest municipal fire department in the state of California, after Los Angeles and responds to nearly 130,000 calls per year.[2]

San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD)

"Dedicated to Our Citizens, Our Members, and Our Profession"
Operational area
Country	United States
State	California
City	San Diego
Agency overview
Established	August 5, 1889[1]
Annual calls	129,880(2014)[2]
Employees	1,256
Annual budget	$218,533,401 (FY 2015)[3]
Staffing	Career
Fire chief	Colin Stowell [4]
EMS level	ALS & BLS
IAFF	145
Facilities and equipment[5]
Divisions	1
Battalions	7
Stations	49 and 3 specialty stations
Engines	49 - Front line 32 - Reserve
Trucks	13 - Front line 5 - Reserve
Squads	3
Rescues	2 Airport Crash Rescue rigs, 1 Heavy Rescue rig
Ambulances	39 contracted ALS units
Tenders	3
HAZMAT	3
USAR	2
Wildland	11 - Type 3
Helicopters	3
Fireboats	3
Website
www.sandiego.gov/fire/
www.sdfire.org

Organization

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department is divided into 2 major Divisions: Emergency Operations and Support Services. Each of these Divisions are commanded by an Assistant Chief who oversees several subdivisions.[6][7]

Helicopters

In the summer of 2002, the SDFD acquired a Bell 212HP with a 375 U.S. gallons (1,420 L) water capacity.[8] In 2005, the department acquired a Bell 412EP for their fleet.[9] The two helicopters are known by their call signs Copter 1 and Copter 2, respectively. They are most commonly used during wildfires for helitack. They can also be used as air ambulances to lift injured personnel. On December 13, 2017 The City Council approved the purchase of one Sikorsky S-70i FireHawk Helicopter for $9.8 million. This will bring the number of Helicopters San Diego Fire-Rescue Department has to 3. The Council also approved using bond revenues to fund a $13.7 million hangar for its helicopters that will include living and office space. The facility will be built at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.[10]

Operations

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department currently operates out of 49 Fire Stations, location throughout the city, organized into 7 Battalions.[11]

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department also operates 25 Lifeguard Stations, 9 of which are permanently staffed.

SDFD Engine 28 responding to a motor vehicle accident.

SDFD Fire Station # 37

There are two additional locations:

	Address	Apparatus
Air Operations Base	John J. Montgomery Dr & Aero Dr	Copter 1, Copter 2, Copter 3, Air Ops 1, Air Ops 2
Emergency Command & Dispatch Center	Kearny Villa Rd & Aero Dr	Communications 1

SDFD Fire Station # 38

SDFD Fire Station # 40

Battalion 1

Battalion 1 consists of 6 Fire stations and an ARFF Station and covers the heart of downtown San Diego including the San Diego International Airport. Engine 1 and Engine 201 are based at Station 1.[6] The Battalion Chief is stationed at station 1.

Fire Station Number	Address	Engine Company	Truck Company	Medic Unit	Other units
1	1222 First Ave.	Engine 1, Engine 201	Truck 1	Medic 1	Battalion 1, Light & Air 1, X-Ray 1, Chemical 1, Utility 81
2	825 West Cedar St.	Engine 2			USAR 2, USAR Utility 1
3	725 West Kalmia St.	Engine 3
4	404 8th Ave.	Engine 4
7	944 Cesar E. Chavez Pkwy.	Engine 7
11	945 25th St.	Engine 11	Truck 11	Medic 11
ARFF Station	3698 Pacific Hwy.				Crash 1, Crash 2, Crash 3, Crash 5

Battalion 2

Battalion 2 consists of 7 Fire stations with the Battalion Chief stationed at station 5.[6]

Fire Station Number	Address	Engine Company	Truck Company	Medic Unit	Brush Unit	Other units
5	3902 9th Ave.	Engine 5				Battalion 2
8	3974 Goldfinch St.	Engine 8
14	4011 32nd St.	Engine 14	Truck 14		Brush 14	Shift Commander 1
18	4676 Felton St.	Engine 18		Medic 18		OES417 (Type I Engine owned by the Office of Emergency Services)
23	2190 Comstock St.	Engine 23				Utility 82
28	3880 Kearny Villa Rd.	Engine 28	Truck 28			Crash 28, Foam 28 & Water Tender 28
36	5855 Chateau Dr.	Engine 36		Medic 36

Battalion 3

Battalion 3 consists of 6 Fire stations with the Battalion Chief stationed at station 25.[6]

Fire Station Number	Address	Engine Company	Truck Company	Medic Unit	Other units
15	4711 Voltaire St.	Engine 15			Utility 83
20	3305 Kemper St.	Engine 20	Truck 20	Medic 20	Utility 20
21	750 Grand Ave.	Engine 21	Truck 21	Medic 21
22	1055 Catalina Blvd.	Engine 22
25	1972 Chicago St.	Engine 25			Battalion 3
27	5064 Clairemont Dr.	Engine 27

Battalion 4

Battalion 4 consists of 7 Fire stations with the Battalion Chief stationed at station 45.[6]

Fire Station Number	Address	Engine Company	Truck Company	Medic Unit	Brush Unit	Other units
10	4605 62nd St.	Engine 10	Truck 10		Brush 10	Chem Rig 10
17	4206 Chamoune Ave.	Engine 17
26	2850 54th St.	Engine 26		Medic 26
31	6002 Camino Rico	Engine 31		Medic 31		Utility 84, Mobile Canteen 2, UDC Trailer (Unified Disaster Counsel),
34	6565 Cowles Mountain Blvd.	Engine 34			Brush 34
39	4949 La Cuenta Dr.	Engine 39		Medic 39
45	9366 Friars Rd.	Engine 45	Truck 45			Battalion 4, HazMat 1, HazMat 2, HazMat 61, ERT 1

Battalion 5

Battalion 5 consists of 8 Fire stations with the Battalion Chief stationed at station 35.[6]

Fire Station Number	Address	Engine Company	Truck Company	Medic Unit	Brush Unit	Other units
9	7870 Ardath Ln	Engine 9		Medic 9		UDC Trailer (Unified Disaster Counsel), MOD Squad (Mobile Operations Detail)
13	809 Nautilus St	Engine 13
16	2110 Via Casa Alta	Engine 16
24	13077 Hartfield Ave	Engine 24		Medic 24	Brush 24
35	4285 Eastgate Mall	Engine 35	Truck 35	Medic 35	Brush 35	Battalion 5, Utility 85
41	4914 Carroll Canyon Rd.	Engine 41		Medic 41		USAR 41
47	6041 Edgewood Court Bend	Engine 47
56	3034 Governor Dr.					Squad 56

Battalion 6

Battalion 6 consists of 9 Fire stations with the Battalion Chief stationed at station 12.[6]

Fire Station Number	Address	Engine Company	Truck Company	Medic Unit	Brush Unit	Other units
6	693 Twining Ave.	Engine 6
12	4964 Imperial Ave.	Engine 12	Truck 12	Medic 12	Brush 12	Battalion 6, Utility 86
19	3434 Ocean View Blvd.	Engine 19				Water Tender 19
29	198 W. San Ysidro Blvd.	Engine 29	Truck 29	Medic 29	Brush 29
30	2265 Coronado Ave.	Engine 30		Medic 30
32	484 Briarwood Rd.	Engine 32		Medic 32
43	1590 La Media Rd.	Engine 43			Brush 43	Crash 43
51	7180 Skyline Dr.	Engine 51
Squad 55	6135 Imperial Ave.					Squad 55

Battalion 7

Battalion 7 consists of 8 Fire stations with the Battalion Chief stationed at station 44.[6]

Fire Station Number	Address	Engine Company	Truck Company	Medic Unit	OES or Brush Unit	Other units
33	16966 Bernardo Center Dr.	Engine 33		Medic 33	OES 8631	(Type III Engine owned by the Office of Emergency Services)
37	11640 Spring Canyon Rd.	Engine 37		Medic 37	Brush 37
38	8441 New Salem St.	Engine 38		Medic 38
40	13393 Salmon River Rd.	Engine 40	Truck 40	Medic 40	Brush 40	Light & Air 40, Water Tender 40, Utility 40
42	12110 World Trade Dr.	Engine 42		Medic 42
44	10011 Black Mountain Rd.	Engine 44	Truck 44	Medic 44	Brush 44	Battalion 7, Utility 87
46	14556 Lazanja Dr.	Engine 46
57	17701 San Pasqual Valley Rd.					Squad 57

Low Staffing Issues

San Diego Engine Company

The San Diego Fire Department is somewhat understaffed compared to comparable fire departments. For example, the fire department has about one firefighter per 1469 residents, compared to one fire fighter per 421 residents in San Francisco.[12] Currently, the San Diego Fire Department is the lowest paid department in southern California. In comparison with other major cities with populations over 1 million, such as Los Angeles, the starting pay for a City of San Diego Fire Fighter is around $46,000. The City of San Diego no longer offers newly hired fire fighters a retirement pension after 20 years of service, new-hire recruits are offered a 401K plan instead.

References

1. "Department History". San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
2. "About SDFD". San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
3. "Budget". San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
4. "Fire Chief Javier Mainar". San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
5. "SDFD - Apparatus". San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
6. "Organizational Chart" (PDF). San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
7. "Department Organization". Retrieved 6 July 2018.
8. "Fire Helicopter Finally Becomes Reality". ABC 10 News. 21 June 2002. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
9. "San Diego Fire-Rescue shows off Copter 2". 1st Responder Broadcast Network. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
10. City Buys Firehawk Helicopter To Bolster Firefighting Arsenal City News Room. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
11. "Fire Stations". San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
12. Heavy on calls, light on resources - Strapped San Diego Fire Department refused accreditation, San Diego Union Tribune

External links

• Official Website
• General Information
• Fire/EMS image collection