In an about-face, the chiefs of all of the volunteer backcountry fire departments have signed a new contract with the San Diego County Fire Authority that will require all volunteer firemen to pass a physical exam to be able to continue to serve in the field.
At a meeting June 16 in Ramona, the chiefs of six such departments had agreed “to stand shoulder to shoulder and not sign the contracts” for fear of losing experienced volunteers who might not pass a stringent exam. (The six included the San Pasqual Volunteer Fire Department, which is responsible for the outlying areas northwest of Ramona, including Highland Hills in Ramona.)
“We were all forced into signing the contracts and we did it under duress,” San Pasqual Chief Gilbert Turrentine said.
He explained that they were originally told that they had until the end of the month to sign, but that Julian Chief Kevin Dubler was notified by county authorities on Thursday, June 25, that the contracts “had to be in Friday morning by 8 or the county would come in and take us over. So we had an emergency meeting in Julian Thursday night and decided that we had no choice but to sign.”
Dubler delivered the signed contracts from the holdout zone 8 agencies to the county administration center the next morning, but they were accompanied by a letter, which said, in part:
“We want to state, for the record, that we are signing this contract under duress. We have signed ... as demanded by the new deadline. THIS DOES NOT MEAN WE UNILATERALLY AGREE WITH OR ACCEPT THE CONTRACT IN ITS ENTIRETY. There still exists a limited number of problems with this contract that need to be negotiated with the county. In signing these contracts, we await the meetings to renegotiate, in good faith, as promised by Ralph Steinhoff.”
Steinhoff is one of two fire service coordinators for the county.
However, county counsel quickly ruled that the attached letter “made our contracts null and void so we were forced to withdraw it,” Turrentine said. “But we remain hopeful that Steinhoff or someone else with authority will negotiate with us in good faith as promised.”
Meanwhile, the county now has signed contracts from the volunteer departments, whose members will now have to a pass a physical to be a “county approved volunteer”—a requirement that has put some of the backcountry chiefs in a tough position. Turrentine has passed the physical, but he injured his back in a fall from a fire truck three years ago, and, to meet the county’s standards, his doctor must rescind an order that he not lift more than 50 pounds. He’ll find out his status at a doctor’s appointment on Monday.
There’s better news for Chief Cary “Dusty” Coleman of the Intermountain Fire and Rescue Department, which protects most of Ramona’s backcountry. Coleman passed the physical and the treadmill test on June 27, although he must wait about a week to get the results of the blood tests before he knows for sure.
“But the doctors all seemed confident that I will pass,” he said. “That’s a relief.”
De Luz Chief Michael Manchor has not yet taken the exam, but his assistant and one of his captains have quit and Manchor said he could lose as many as 22 more volunteers.
Ocotillo Wells Chief Dan Johnson has passed everything except the stress test on the treadmill, “but they said I can’t get on it ‘cause I’d break it,” he said (because of his weight). Turrentine said the county could give Johnson “a lay-down stress test with chemicals,” but probably won’t because it is expensive.
“They shouldn’t fail Dan (Johnson) if they won’t let him take the test,” he said.
According to Turrentine, the Ranchita chief flunked because of a hernia, as did one of the San Pasqual captains. The Shelter Valley chief has high blood pressure and no insurance to treat it, so his future is uncertain. The Mount Laguna chief does not want to take the physical and may step down to become the administrative chief “just to keep the department alive.”
“But things run smoothly in the field when you have an experienced person there in charge,” Turrentine said. “If you’re stuck in a station, you can’t supervise.”
From the county’s perspective, officials appear relieved and happy that the volunteer departments finally signed the new contracts.
“It’s fantastic. I am really pleased,” said Ken Miller, the county’s other fire services coordinator. “We have a great group of volunteers. This situation was changing like a light switch, so I’m really glad it worked out. I can’t stress enough that the volunteers are a critical component of our fire safety program.”
But it’s clear that the county was planning, as promised, to continue to provide uninterrupted fire protection. For example, in Ocotillo Wells the county had brought in a portable structure last week to serve as a station and equipment to dig trenches for power lines and phone service to the building. Chief Johnson had already received a letter from the county, dated June 23, telling him that a county-owned fire engine and water tender would be picked up on June 30.
That crisis seems to have passed—at least for the time being—but it’s still unclear how many volunteers will be lost. Turrentine has estimated that as many as 100 will refuse to take a physical because, if they do not presently have insurance and if they flunk, it could destroy their chances of getting insurance in the future.