Firefighters taking it to the streets

By: DAN SIMMONS - Staff Writer
Vista Fire in hiring mode thanks to Proposition L | Friday, March 21, 2008 10:47 AM PDT ∞

VISTA ---- Every morning starting at 6:30 a.m., the five newest Vista firefighters run down Main Street in formation, chanting a cadence.

They do it to build camaraderie as part of their fitness training regimen and to "get the blood flowing" at the start of every day, said Capt. Pat Murphy, training supervisor. Their 18-day training ends Saturday.

But there's another reason for the public jaunts.

"I think it's good for the city and the citizens to know their firefighters are well-trained," said paramedic Chris Wood, who joins the new recruits most mornings.

The more visible role for the recruits-in-training comes as the department plans to hire 15 more over the next six months, said the deputy fire chief, Randy Terich. The hiring binge comes thanks to Proposition L, a half-cent sales tax passed by voters in November 2006.

The city broke ground on two fire stations in January, using revenue from the 30-year sales tax increase, which took effect April 1 and will generate $6.5 million the first year, followed by annual increases of 3 percent, according to city officials. It gave Vista the highest sales tax rate in North County, 8.25 percent.

The station in central Vista will replace the Wildwood Community Center at 651 E. Vista Way, on a city-owned, 2-acre lot next to Wildwood Park. The other station, a 13,000-square-foot building with a more contemporary design, is taking shape on a vacant site in south Vista, at South Melrose Drive and Green Oak Road.

The fire stations are expected to cost a total of $10 million to $13 million, with beefed-up staffing adding about $1.4 million annually.

The Fire Department has mostly held steady in hiring over the last five years, Terich said, replacing departed firefighters but rarely adding staff.

The projected batch of new hires has compelled a new focus on recruiting and training.

Murphy, a 27-year veteran, was reassigned to a new training captain job when this group of recruits began its training academy March 3. He'll continue full time in the role until the opening of the new stations, now set for February.

Terich noted how different training is from when he started 28 years ago.

In those days, training took many months as new recruits learned basic firefighting and other essential skills, he said.

Now, recruits come certified in firefighting and paramedic skills, Terich said. Hence, the compressed training schedule: three weeks in the academy followed by 10 shifts with senior paramedics.

If recruits pass both, they're allowed to start as part of an engine crew, he said.

"They come to us with all that background now," Terich said. "All we do is fine-tune it."

Contact staff writer Dan Simmons at (760) 740-5426 or dsimmons@nctimes.com.

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