FIREWIRE Magazine Winter 2019: Celebrating 5 Years | Page 22

LETTERS FROM THE EDITORS:
JARED NEWCOMER
FIREWIRE Readers,
Like many of you, I have watched this department grow and
progress into something almost unrecognizable to its former
self over the last 15 years. In my opinion, the organization has
progressed because people have been empowered to make
things better. There are so many examples of this. Ideas from all
ranks have grown from inception to fully functioning, self-sus-
taining programs that create and provide lasting value to Coun-
ty Fire every single day. I believe FIREWIRE is a perfect example
of this.
Time flies. It doesn’t seem that long ago that Jeff Allen was tell-
ing me about his idea for a department magazine that would
highlight the members and the great work they do every day.
He built a team and now we are celebrating the fifth year an-
niversary of FIREWIRE. It is definitely something I am proud to
be a part of.
I have high hopes for FIREWIRE going forward. First and fore-
most, I hope it continues. It can’t do that long-term without a
group effort from the members. Support, participation, and col-
laboration are all needed to ensure FIREWIRE is here for years
to come. Second, I hope it continues to progress. New ideas on
how to utilize and leverage FIREWIRE for the members’ benefit
will (and should) come from you, the reader and perhaps future
contributor. If you have any ideas at all, please let Jeff or one
of the editors know and we can help you bring that idea into
the magazine.
Five years went fast. Now I look forward to the 10 year anniver-
sary issue where I sit back and see the familiar format but read
the newest and greatest coming from our people. Who knows
where it will go, but I take pride in where it started and can’t
wait to see a future generation of firefighters take it forward.
FEATURES
Most periodical publications have regularly re-
curring pieces which provide familiarity to the
reader along with structure for the producer. So
on these next few pages you’ll find some recog-
nizable stuff, including Faces of 935, where any
of our members can be highlighted; SBCoFD Be-
hind the Scenes, where we learn about members
of our agency in support roles; Command and
Control, where incident scenes are shown from
the IC’s point of view; and Community Outreach,
where we see ourselves in the public sphere.
The other story features our desert corridor,
from east of Barstow all the way to the Neva-
da border. County Fire has patrolled this area
for a long time, and for much of that history
our agency made due with the most minimal of
professional staffing. The political effort to get
this area covered with at least a standard pro-
fessional medic engine crew and ALS ambulance
is one of our triumphs; it is what happens when a
labor organization joins with its management to
achieve a mutual goal.
Jared Newcomer
Assistant Editor
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FIREWIRE • Five Year Anniversary
Winter 2019 • FIREWIRE
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