annual report
| i
Word from your
Fire chief
San Bernardino County spans 20,000 square miles making
it the most expansive county in the United States. It is the
12th most populous county in the nation with a little over
2 million residents. The County Fire District covers over
75% of land mass and over 1/3 of the population of San
Bernardino County. We are a dependent fire district of the
County which means that the County Board of Supervisors
acts as the Fire Board of the Fire District. The County Fire
District was reorganized in 2008 pursuant to Fire Protection
District Law (Health & Safety Code ยง13800, et seq.). Fire
District Law is the source of statutory authority for more
than 380 fire protection districts in California. Our responsibilities as a fire district include fire protection services,
rescue services, emergency medical services, hazardous
material emergency response services, ambulance services,
and other services relating to the protection of lives and
property critical to the public peace, health, and safety of
San Bernardino County.
Our Mission is to provide these critical life safety services
efficiently through a regional network of firefighters, emergency
medical services personnel, fire prevention officers by way of
fire engines, ambulances, rescue squads, heavy rescue rigs,
haz-mat units and staff vehicles. Our administration offices
are staffed by highly trained professionals and technicians
that are placed strategically throughout the four service
zones of the Fire District.
We pride ourselves in being your small town fire department
even though we serve such a large area. Our size allows
for a depth of resources that benefit even our smallest
communities. Accountability to and participation in the
cities and communities that we serve is part of the culture
of our organization. We work hard to bring a local sensitivity
to each and every call for service.
As you will read throughout the Annual Report, the men and
women of County Fire have been working hard to develop partnerships with our county and city partners to serve our communities
better. County Fire and the County Sheriff have never worked
more closely in order to maximize the level of service delivery to
our residents and visitors. County Public Health and Arrowhead
Regional Medical Center have partnered with County Fire to
provide more comprehensive health services in our communities
through a State Pilot Program that utilizes Fire District paramedics
that are scattered around the County and available 24 hours a
day/365 days a year.
We are proud to wear the County Fire Rescue and EMS patch as
we meet your expectations each and every day. We hope you never
have to ask us for help, however, we will be ready when you do.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Hartwig
Fire Chief/Fire Warden