BACKGROUND
The Viejas Fire Department is just 15 minutes from the city limits of San Diego. The Department services the Viejas Tribal Reservation and its large tourist, hotel, casino, and outlet centers with only 15 paid firefighters. With an established population of just 600, depending on the season, there could be upwards of 10,000 people on the Reservation at a given time. Responding to 2,000 calls per year, this unique set up is complicated by significant hills and grades for the department’s vehicles.
CHALLENGE
Because the department does not offer a public employee retirement system, retention and recruitment pose a major issue. However, this personnel challenge is not unique to Viejas, as it is a national trend among Fire Departments. When faced with the decision of purchasing a new engine, Captain Jim Bingham was looking for updated technology.
“This system allows our engineer to do other tasks, without running to a different side of the truck. It is state of the art, saves time, saves money, and saves space. I like to say, ‘why would you ever get a Tesla with roll-up windows?’ This is one of the most innovative improvements I have seen in my 40+ years of firefighting experience.”
SOLUTION
When asked why they chose a SAM system, Captain Bingham simply stated, “We liked everything about it. This technology is something we need – it is the latest state of the art improvement.” Further, Captain Bingham mentioned how convenient it was to operate from both sides of the engine. As a department that may only respond with one vehicle, optimizing space was another benefit of the SAM system. The compact nature of SAM allowed the Department to save room for life-saving equipment in rural environments.
RESULTS
SAM has significantly impacted the training of new recruits. While firefighters won’t drive the engine until after at least a full year of experience, green members learn how to operate and use SAM almost immediately. Captain Bingham further elaborates on the positive aspects of SAM, “This system allows our engineer to do other tasks, without running to a different side of the truck. It is state of the art, saves time, saves money, and saves space. I like to say, ‘why would you ever get a Tesla with roll-up windows?’ This is one of the most innovative improvements I have seen in my 40+ years of firefighting experience.”
“We liked everything about it. This technology is something we need – it is the latest state of the art improvement.”
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