FIREWIRE Magazine Winter 2019: Celebrating 5 Years | Page 24

FEATURES: THE CORRIDOR
Originally published in Fall 2015
UNFUNDED LIABILITY
STATION 53
By Eric Spies
When it comes to the ability to adapt and
overcome, few can compare with San
Bernardino County Fire Station 53.
Located in Baker along the
I-15 freeway corridor, crews
there are forced to overcome
extreme factors that most
public safety providers cannot
imagine. This statement is
based on several challenging
conditions such as minimal
funding, a large service area,
long response times, less than
adequate staffing, extended time
for support and very little resources
available to assist on incidents.
FIREWIRE • Five Year Anniversary
outlying areas of the county and is
rarely highlighted by the media or
even by our own department.
On May 11 this incident involved two fatalities and four pediatric injuries. The
Crew from Station 53 received assistance from the Barstow Marine Corps
Logistics Base Fire Dept. one hour and 45 minutes after the call time.
O
ne common misconception about this station is in regards to the population it
serves. The town of Baker is only 2.6 square miles in size, with a population of just 735. Based on this
information one would think that a BLS engine company (meaning that in terms of EMS delivery, crew
members are trained only to the EMT-basic level) staffed with a full-time captain and an entry-level
limited-term firefighter might be adequate. The problem many fail to recognize is the responsibility of this
station extends far beyond the town of Baker. Station 53 has direct responsibility to protect 4,000 square
miles, 130 miles of freeway and highways, 100 miles of railroad, two large solar generating facilities
(including one of the world’s largest), Dumont Dunes OHV area and the Mojave Nature Preserve. The
station responds to roughly 1,500 calls a year with an average call duration of one to two hours.
So how many people does station 53 actually protect? CalTrans reported an average of 39,500
vehicles passing through Baker on I-15 everyday in 2014. Meanwhile, the Las Vegas visitor profile
that was conducted by GLS Research in 2014 concluded that 23,500,000 people traveled to Las
Vegas by way of motor vehicle, with most of them using I-15 through Southern California. Based on
those studies, we can conclude that on average 64,383 people are protected daily by Station 53. If
you think of it in terms of population it is tough to digest the idea that a single BLS fire engine with
below-standard staffing protects the population of 64,383 on a daily basis. Most cities responsible
for a population of this size operate with at least three stations with three-person advanced life
support (paramedic-level service) fire engines.
The next challenge that faces Station 53 is the response times. With one of the largest areas
protected by a single engine company it is not uncommon to have a response time of 45-60
minutes. Due to the nature of the area served it can be understood why on 90 percent of its
calls Engine 53 is unable to come close to the NFPA 1710 BLS standard four minute response.
This lack of resources comes ultimately at the expense of the citizens served. With I-15 in the
top three most dangerous highways in California according to Popular Mechanics and the U.S.
Department of Transportation, it is shocking that one of the largest stretches of this highway
is protected by one engine company at the BLS level exceeding every recommendation of
response times.

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Fire Station 53 lies in one of the
The staffing available to Station 53 is a large area of concern. With only one captain and one
limited-term firefighter, this staffing model unfairly asks personnel to operate at a level that is
well below standards in the fire service. The captain is responsible not only for typical captain
responsibilities, but also the engineer’s driving and pump operation duties, acting as the
primary EMT for the crew, conducting firefighter job tasks, as well as commanding large-scale
incidents that typically would rely on a battalion chief’s immediate presence. The limited-term
firefighters who are commonly assigned to station 53 often have little or no prior experience.
The combination of these two factors places Engine 53 personnel in challenging situations
when striving to meet the standard of delivery desired by San Bernardino County Fire.

Normally, when an engine company needs additional resources, help is there within 10 minutes
or less. Compared to the many other challenges at 53’s, this is one of the most significant due
to the staffing model in place. So where do additional resources come from? The closest units
to assist are Clark County Fire from the state of Nevada, Marine Corp Logistics Base Fire out
of Barstow and SBCoFD Station 4 in Helendale. This dictates that, depending on call location,
most resources are at least 45 minutes away. Having additional resources becomes crucial
when operating an understaffed BLS engine company.

Other factors challenging station 53 include the call types and environment. The majority of
Station 53’s calls are related to the freeway. Some of the county’s most horrific traffic collisions
frequently happen on the stretch of I-15 surrounding Baker. Engine 53 handles some very
complex traffic collisions that in most areas of the county would be classified as multi-casualty
incidents, but due to the long response times of additional resources it is pointless to start the
typical resource response. Station 53 is forced to run these large-scale incidents with minimal
resources. To compare the severity of this situation we will look at a traffic collision requiring
extrication of victims—typically a call that requires use of the personnel-intensive “Jaws of
Life” tools. In most areas of San Bernardino County Fire’s jurisdiction, one or two ALS-level fire
engines (each carrying three personnel), one ALS-level ladder truck (3-4 crew members) and
a battalion chief will be initially dispatched. In many areas of Station 53’s district the initial
units on scene are Engine 53 and one private ambulance unit, and any additional resources
may or may not arrive in time to assist. This obviously constrains the crews’ ability to provide
quality emergency services.

As if the extraordinary challenges listed above were not enough, consider also weather. This
area of the corridor sees both extremes of seasonal weather with summer highs averaging 107
degrees and heavy snowfall in the winter in the Mountain Pass area. Combined with the other
challenges that face Station 53 it has become an area of high concern for San Bernardino
County Professional Fire Firefighters Local 935.

Local 935 is currently working with County Fire management to find solutions to solve this
dangerous situation, perhaps enabling Station 53 to provide the level of service one should
expect while traveling through our county, and to provide safe working conditions for our
members assigned to this station.
Winter 2019 • FIREWIRE
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