General President Schaitberger visited several fire locations while in southern California, joining members of San Diego Local 145 and other locals deployed from across the state for breakfast at base camps along the frontline of the fires, including the Harris fire base camp (shown in slide show) in San Diego; Witch fire base camp in Escondito; and Buckweed base camp in Los Angeles County. In addition, Schaitberger held a press conference October 25 with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in Escondito. He concluded his tour of the wildfire frontlines with a Blackhawk air tour of the fires and then joined Los Angeles County Local 1014 members for breakfast at Station 126 and Los Angeles City Local 112 members for lunch at Station 5. Photos by Steven Hellon
October 25, 2007 -- As the more than 7,000
IAFF fire fighters on the ground in southern California
continue working 96-hour shifts to contain the 12 major
wildfires, IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger,
California Professional Firefighters (CPF) President Lou
Paulson, CAL Fire Local 2881 President Bob Wolf and San
Diego Local 145 President Ron Saathoff are on the ground
surveying the damage, talking to exhausted fire fighters and
meeting with policy makers, including Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger.
“Fire fighters never blink when they’ve got a job to do, no
matter how imposing,” says Schaitberger. “Once again, fire
fighters are in the eye of the storm, putting their lives on
the line for their communities. I want to make sure that
they know they have the entire nation supporting them as
they do their duty.”
Schaitberger reports that there is a vast difference in
California’s response from Louisiana’s response in 2005 to
Hurricane Katrina. “We have fire fighters responding from
four states. And Governor Schwarzenegger and local
governments are responding faster,” says Schaitberger, who
congratulated Governor Schwarzenegger for his state’s
response to the devastating wildfires during a press
conference with the governor in Escondito.
The state also recalled 1,800 seasonal fire fighters to
assist in fighting the fires. The IAFF is advocating for
seasonal fire fighters to become year-round personnel
statewide.
“We cannot lose sight of the resources needed for local fire
fighters and their communities up and down the state,”
Schaitberger says. “With resources already running thin in
many communities, fire fighters were being deployed to fight
the wildfires, leaving their own cities and communities at
serious risk.”
Four fire fighters battling the Harris fire near San Diego were
overtaken by flames after their apparatus stalled. All four are hospitalized - two in critical condition.
At the federal level, President Bush earlier this year
proposed slashing funding for FIRE Act and SAFER grants to
hire more fire fighters and ensure the nation’s first
responders have the resources and training they need to do
their jobs safely and effectively. The president’s 2008
budget proposed cutting funding for the FIRE Act by 45
percent and eliminated the SAFER program altogether. FIRE
and SAFER are both authorized for $1 billion per year, but
FIRE Act funding now receives about half its full funding
and SAFER gets only 10 percent of its authorized level of
funding.
“The president has failed America’s fire fighters by seeking
to slash the funding they need to protect our communities,”
says Schaitberger. “He is demonstrating with the wildfire
disaster in California – as he did in response to Hurricane
Katrina – that he is satisfied with showing his face at the
height of a disaster, rather than preparing for it
beforehand.”
Arson investigators are calling some of the blazes in Orange
and Riverside counties suspicious. In Orange County, the FBI
and the County Fire Authority have found multiple points of
origin in the Santiago Fire that has burned 23,000 acres.
Investigators believe whoever started the fire wanted it to
grow quickly.
Meanwhile, CAL Fire is treating the Rosa Fire in Riverside
County as an arson case. It burned more than 400 acres
before being fully contained.
These wildfires, which have been estimated to have caused
over $1 billion in damages, are the largest natural disaster
in the United States since Hurricane Katrina. More than 460,
000 acres have been charred and nearly 1,600 homes
destroyed, including fire fighters’ homes.
Reports indicate at least 36 fire fighters have been hurt
and are in varying conditions.
Four CAL Fire Local 2881 fire fighters were injured in the
Harris fire east of San Diego when the extreme heat from the flames overtook
their apparatus. The four, whose names have not been released, are recovering at
the University of San Diego Burn Trauma Unit. Two remain in critical condition. Immediately upon arriving in California, Schaitberger
visited the fire fighters.
"They were in good spirits," he says. One of the injured -- a young fire fighter
with only six months on the job -- told President Schaitberger, "I can't wait to
get back to the line."
"He's a true testament to the integrity of all our guys out
there," says Schaitberger.
IAFF members can assist fire fighters who have suffered
damages and losses from the wildfires by making a
tax-deductible contribution to the
IAFF Disaster
Relief Fund.
Press Releases
No Rest
for Weary California Fire Fighters - October 25, 2007more
Fire Fighters Leader to Visit Wildfire Fight,
Boost Morale and Assess Staffing, Resources - October 25, 2007more
California Burns and Bush Basks in Glow - October 25, 2007more
