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Articles written by Steve Abbott


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  • Fire Chief shares concerns

    Steve Abbott, North County Fire Protection District|Updated Apr 3, 2020

    Like most people, the North County Fire Protection District are concerned about what challenges await us during this COVID-19 pandemic and at the same time cautiously optimistic. While the district was among the first within the regional fire service community to be directly impacted, we are also among the furthest along in adjusting our operations accordingly. Many of our staff are heavily engaged at the regional level to provide guidance to others on how to best address these challenges, from alterations in our dispatch,... Full story

  • Fire Chief's Report – How NCFPD is handling increase in calls for EMS services

    Steve Abbott, North County Fire Protection District|Updated Nov 5, 2018

    In last week's paper we ran a story about the impact of the closure of Fallbrook Hospital on Fire and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) operations. That chart depicted some formatting errors. The corrected version is provided today. We have also received some questions about what North County Fire Protection District has done in response to this dramatic increase in calls for EMS services. In addition to funding a third ambulance and reclassifying certain positions to less...

  • Fire Chief's Report – Hospital closure has had major impact on fire

    Steve Abbott, North County Fire Protection District|Updated Oct 29, 2018

    As we are approaching the four-year mark since the closure of Fallbrook Hospital, we would like to share with our community the impact that closure has had upon our fire department. As many of you may know, North County Fire is your provider of fire and emergency medical services and has operated a paramedic program since 1990. This was a huge step for our department in that it increased its workforce and budget by 25 percent. With the closure of the hospital in December 2014,...

  • Chief Abbott says be prepared to evacuate

    Steve Abbott, North County Fire Protection District|Updated Aug 14, 2018

    Last month's Rock fire (July 28) serves as an important reminder of the importance to be prepared to evacuate, and when told to do so during a wildfire, to evacuate quickly. Fires across the nation are now regularly burning at once historic rates, and less predictably. The "firenado" that was responsible for four of the six deaths at the Carr fire in Redding is but just one such example. Staying behind after receiving an evacuation order will put your life at risk. With such a...

  • Fire Chief's Report – How to get information on Camp Pendleton fires

    Steve Abbott, North County Fire Protection District|Updated Aug 6, 2018

    Living adjacent to Camp Pendleton, our community is frequently impacted by smoke that originates from fires within the base. Most commonly, such fires are in one of several “impact areas,” which are well inside the base perimeter. As we frequently field inquiries about fire status on Camp Pendleton, we would like to pass along the link to the base information/fire information webpage, which explains when and how live training should be conducted as well as updated information in the event of a fire. The web address is: www...

  • Fire Chief's Report ¬– defensible space gives homes a chance in wildfires

    Steve Abbott, North County Fire Protection District|Updated Jan 21, 2018

    Although we are now in the winter months, last month’s Lilac fire demonstrated that fire season is year-round in Southern California and such devastating winter fires are not uncommon. Sixteen years ago in February 2002 we experienced the Gavilan fire, which destroyed 46 homes and burned 10,000 acres under very similar circumstances. In surveying the Lilac fire’s path of destruction it was fairly evident that most residences that survived – as was the case in the Gavilan fire – had sufficient defensible space and were we...