County Absorbs Crest Forest Fire District

(July 26) The county fire department on Saturday took over operation of the Crest Forest Fire Protection District.
In a relatively seamless transition, the firefighters who had previously been employed by the Crest Forest Fire Protection District were laid off and immediately rehired by the San Bernardino County Fire Department. The district, which has been in existence since 1929, remains as a corporate entity contracting with the county, though it is likely that in a relatively short period of time it will be subsumed by the county. The district’s board remains in place.
While county officials assert that there will be no diminution in fire protection or service levels, the county will keep just two-thirds of the firemen it absorbed on July 20 at the two stations within the boundaries of the Crest Forest Fire Protection District, Station 25 in Crestline and Station 26 in Twin Peaks.
According to battalion chief John McLinn, the county fire division will now station an ambulance and its two-person crew at Station 26. That ambulance was previously staged out of Station 94 in Lake Arrowhead.
“By moving that ambulance to Station 26, it will be placed in a more centrally located position and will provide improved response time to its area of operations,” McLinn said.
Previously, the Crest Forest Fire District had two firefighter paramedics on a paramedic engine functioning out of Station 26 in Twin Peaks.  In addition to the ambulance at Station 26, County Fire will stage a three-person paramedic engine out of that site.
Previously, at Station 25 in Crestline, the Crest Forest Fire District had a medical fire engine with two men manning it. Under the new County Fire arrangement, according to McLinn, there will be a two-person crew manning the medical engine and a paramedic ambulance, also manned by two paramedic firefighters at Station 25.
The total staff for the department will consist of six captains, six engineers, six firefighter-paramedics and six  ambulance operators-medics.

Leave a Reply