San Bernardino County Fire Protection District Chief Dan Munsey appeared before Chamber of Commerce and C.O.M.E.T. members on Tuesday, February 27, at 7 p.m., to state reasons why the Department does not want voters to vote Yes on Measure W.
He first reminded attendees to cut fuel breaks or have goats, in order to lessen fire danger, and said a majority of the calls could be prevented.
Chief Munsey explained that Measure W seeks to repeal the fire tax first imposed on the District’s residents in 2018. It began in Helendate/Silver Lakes, where the residents wished to raise money for a fire station, and four firefighters including two paramedics. San Bernardino County is the largest in the nation, comprising 19,278 million square miles, 78% of which is state or federal land, on which no property taxes are paid. The District covers all non-incorporated areas in the County, including Mentone, he continued.
Chief Munsey said that the Fire District not only helps with Wildland fires but snowstorms, hazardous materials, rail derailments; 78% of the calls are medical; all fire engines have a paramedic on board and a heart attack requires multiple paramedics. Ambulance companies are going under, he added. As a result, if things are different, the wait time can be 15-45 minutes. The U.S. Forest Service cannot respond to anything but forest fires, and the County general fund is not available to provide for the District’s needs, according to Health and Safety Code Section 13800. In 2016 San Bernardino City went bankrupt and annexed properties into District FP5 but the City comes to help when it can.
As to claims that the fire tax is unconstitutional, he said, the Fire District cannot put a measure on the ballot to raise funds for the District’s stations and there have been five court challenges [Ed.’s note: they must have been unsuccessful]. He added that a station’s costs, such as for the Mentone station, must be covered by property taxes or it will close. He continued to state that a new fire engine costs $1.3 million, up from $350,000 in 2018. New stations cost from $11M to $22M to build. A (diesel) fire engine only lasts about 10 years. Tools and supplies are very expensive. Insurance premiums are expected to increase, based on logistics. The property tax fund is very short and cannot support all of the fire stations. In 2023, calls in Mentone totaled 1,247, with 364 from out of Mentone, with a total of 1,611. Mentone has one fire station with three people on duty at all times. It has an additional truck to fight brush fires. They also have hand crews heavy equipment and fire engine upgrades to pay for. No County department gets the property fire tax, he also said.
The District obtains grants to help with costs, he continued, and stated that in 2023 his department handled 106,000 calls, the 14th busiest in the state. If the District is defunded by Measure W, fire stations may have to close and response times will be lengthier, he said. Redlands only comes out if we have reciprocity. If the fire tax is not repealed, the station and personnel will be maintained.
In response to an audience member’s question why the paramedics did not come to the aid of a teen who had been in a fight, Chief Munsey concluded his talk and Q&A session by stating that they cannot respond until a Sheriff’s deputy has responded, and in that situation the deputy did not respond.
Election Day is Tuesday, March 5. Get out and vote! MM