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East County News Service
Photo: Two Jacumba CAL FIRE firefighters stand ready to respond in a new paramedic engine at the Jacumba fire station.
October 14, 2015 (San Diego)--San Diego County Fire and CAL FIRE are making a major upgrade to fire and emergency medical services at the County’s Jacumba fire station with the launch this week of round-the-clock paramedic service. It’s the first time ever the service has been offered from the station, located south of Interstate 8 near the Mexican border.
The upgrade is part of an overall effort to increase paramedic capabilities throughout the San Diego County Fire Authority’s service area. A new paramedic engine at Jacumba is the seventh that County Fire has added over the past few years. Other new, County Fire-funded paramedic engines now operate out of the Otay, Jamul, Lake Morena, Pine Valley, Descanso and Intermountain stations.
“We continue to take big steps to boost emergency medical services in our backcountry, and bringing 24/7 service to Jacumba is an important part of that effort,” said Supervisor Dianne Jacob. “Until now, the closest paramedic engine to Jacumba has been at least a 30-minute drive away.”
In September 30, 2013, a man found unconscious at the De Anza Resort in Jacumba died before paramedics arrived at least 20 minutes after 911 was called, as ECM reported. At the time, the two closest fire stations were both closed due to staffing shortages, ECM's investigation revealed.
Since then, the County has consolidated volunteer stations into the County Fire Authority with an aim toward improving both firefighting and paramedic services.
Having paramedics stationed locally at stations across rural East County will undoubtedly save lives in the future.
The area surrounding the Jacumba fire station has a population of approximately 570 and includes a segment of Interstate 8 that is highly traveled and has numerous traffic-related incidents requiring medical intervention and paramedic response. A County-funded, CAL FIRE-staffed paramedic fire engine began serving the area Monday. New staff positions included a fire captain, two fire apparatus engineers and three firefighter paramedics. This is the first time the station has been staffed at this level.
“This is an exciting time in the evolution of County Fire,” said Tony Mecham, Chief of CAL FIRE San Diego and County Fire.
The Jacumba fire station is located at 1255 Jacumba Rd. in Jacumba CA 91934.
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