Volume 25 | No. 3 Third Quarter 2017 n the pre-dawn hours on October 9th, a Berkeley Fire Department strike team rolled into Santa Rosa, called in on a mutual aid response to what they thought was a large wildland fire. As they EVOLVING arrived in their assigned staging area – a Kmart Iparking lot in northwest Santa Rosa – they knew it was much bigger: The Kmart was completely up in flames. “Are you serious?” wondered one incredulous Engine 6 firefighter. Up the road, fellow Berkeley firefighter Josh Block UNDER FIRE had already seen the worst of it. He and his brother had been forced to flee the home they shared in Santa An Ever-Expanding Disaster Risk is Rosa. “The whole cul-de-sac was up in flames in like 10 minutes,” he later marveled. “Fifty-foot flame lengths … I’ve never seen anything like it.” Transforming the California Fire Service The North Bay Firestorm that would unfold in the blistering week that followed was, by many accounts, one for the ages: 43 deaths (most ever in a single fire incident in California history), more than 8,000 structures lost, total losses estimated in the billions. More than three dozen firefighters lost their own homes in the event – many of them while they were themselves on the fire lines. For the California fire service, cataclysmic events are starting to seem like just another day at the office. In just the second half of 2017, a string of incidents – far flung and close-to-home – have tested the capa- bilities, training, stamina and courage of the state’s first responders: JULY: A series of windblown wildland fires charred an area the size of New York City, sending tens of thousands fleeing from their homes. At the height of the fires, upwards of 10,000 firefighters were mobilized, with nearly three-quarters coming from hundreds of local agency departments. AUGUST: Hurricanes Harvey and Irma prompted mobilization of six of California’s eight Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces. More than two hundred Cali- fornia firefighters conducted the grim response effort – one Los Angeles City crew was on its way home from Harvey when it was redirected east to Florida. Continued on page 6 PRESIDENT’S MEMORIAL LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT PERSPECTIVE COVERAGE UPDATE REPORTS Page 3 Pages 12-13 Pages 14-15 Pages 14-21 CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS SECOND QUARTER | VOLUME 23 NO. 2 1 LETTERS TO THE PRESIDENT Dear Lou, you have any questions, please do not hesitate to President Paulson, call Sean Elsbernd, my State Director, at (415) During my many years of 393-0760. On behalf of the IAFF Char- public service, I have vis- Please thank everyone, over and over! itable Foundation, thank ited a number of urban you to all CPF members fires and natural wildfires. Sincerely, for your recent generous My visit this weekend to Dianne Feinstein contribution of $10,000.00 Santa Rosa, however, was United States Senator to our Disaster Relief Fund. unprecedented. I have never seen such devas- These funds went directly to providing food and tation, nor have I ever seen such devastation water, generators and fans, dry clothing, chain wrought so rapidly and all encompassing. saws, tarps and re-building help, direct financial While the damage was unprecedented, what Dear Lou, assistance, vaccinations, behavioral health support was proven routine at these events, yet never and anything else required to get our members taken for granted, is the tremendous amount of On behalf of the people of what they needed in the wake of Hurricanes Har- courage and dedication to public safety demon- California, I want to sin- vey and Irma. strated by our (your) firefighters. Most especially, cerely thank you for your In addition to these critical efforts, we have been I was touched by those firefighters who raced to leadership during the lat- assisting our members touched by a string of dev- fight the fire, while knowing that their own homes est round of devastating astating occurrences across the country. The mass had been lost, and their own families could still wildfires that hit our state. shooting in Clark County, Nevada on the end of the be in danger. The commitment to the safety and Your unwavering commitment and dedication Las Vegas Strip and the wildfires currently raging the protection of their community proved para- to your team of relentless firefighters is inspiring. in northern California that have destroyed dozens mount – an unbelievable characteristic for which We are all so proud of the men and women who of our members’ homes and have affected so many I am so tremendously grateful. are putting their own lives on the line to save make your help even more important during these Enclosed, please find a $10,000 contribution to others. Their courage, bravery, and selflessness trying times. your “Go Fund a Hero” organization. I trust that will forever be remembered. Your generosity demonstrated once again that these funds will go directly to the firefighters who Thank you, Lou, for your leadership and when we are faced with adversity, we truly have have lost everything as a result of these fires in friendship. each other’s backs. Northern California. Specifically, I request that these funds be directed toward firefighters with Sincerely, Fraternally, families and children. I want to make sure that Kamala D. Harris Harold A. Schaitberger the youngest amongst us are taken care of. Should United States Senator Foundation Chairman PERSONAL EXPOSURE REPORTING It’s a dangerous job, protect yourself MOBILE-FRIENDLY: Report exposures anywhere on tablet or smartphone STREAMLINED: Simple, intuitive data entry – no chemical names required ONE-TOUCH RECURRING EXPOSURES: Easily track diesel and other ongoing exposures IMMEDIATE ACCESS: Download exposure records anytime PRIVACY: Secure database give peace of mind – your records belong to you. 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Sign up or report your exposures www.peronline.org 2 THIRD QUARTER | VOLUME 25 NO. 3 CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE LOU PAULSON HIGH STAKES IN THE YEAR AHEAD hen looking back at decide the offices of governor, as well the events of 2017, it’s as the seven other statewide constitu- hard to imagine that No matter the outcome, you can be tional offices. the coming year could The race for governor is of particu- bring challenges that lar importance to our union, as the Wwill rival what we’ve seen to date. sure that California Professional victorious administration will have In only the final three months of the opportunity to shape statewide this past year, our state experienced policy for the better part of a decade. devastation at an entirely unprec- Firefighters will remain strong, Issues such as collective bargaining edented rate. In the north, the Tubbs rights, retirement security and fire- Fire, the Nun Fire and several other fighter behavioral health all subject to blazes burning in unison claimed standing against the opponents of the upcoming administration’s politi- the lives of 44 Californians and cal will, as will decisions about mutual destroyed nearly 9,000 structures in the working class and advocating aid and training resources needed to a little over a week. It was the most combat the threat of wildfires like devastating series of wildfires in Cali- those seen in the latter half of 2017. fornia history, one that was capable for our members and their In the next few months, California of leveling entire neighborhoods in Professional Firefighters will be just a matter of hours. Only a few meeting for candidates for each of the months later, disaster struck the families, both on the job and off. contested statewide constitutional Southland, with the Thomas Fire, the as part of our endorsement process. Skirball Fire and others prompting When we do, the metric by which we evacuations and disaster declara- beyond. I can also say, again with represents one of the most brazen measure these candidates will be the tions in counties from Santa Barbara relative certainty, that when they do, attacks in their ever-growing war same as it always is – who will stand down to San Diego. At the time this the men and women of the California against organized labor. Should the with us on the issues that matter most message was written, many of these fire service will stand ready to answer decision not be in labor’s favor, union to firefighters. These issues, including blazes are still burning out of control, the call. solidarity will be tested across the staffing, on-the-job safety and retire- and our members from across the The fire ground, however, won’t nation, meaning that our organizing ment security, are what are important state are working around the clock be the only place we’ll face new chal- and union education efforts will more to our members, and so too must they to defend the lives and property of lenges in the coming year. important than ever before. be important to any candidate hoping those who live in the affected areas. At some point in 2018, the United No matter the outcome, you can for our support. Sadly, incidents such as these are State’s Supreme Court will hand down be sure that California Professional While the challenges of 2018 will quickly becoming the new normal in a verdict in the matter of Janus v. Firefighters will remain strong, test our ranks, California Professional our state. AFSCME, a case that aims to undercut standing against the opponents of Firefighters has demonstrated time While fires like the one’s described union rights for firefighters and mil- the working class and advocating for and time again that, through this soli- above may have seemed unimaginable lions of other public sector workers.