Public Safety

County, CAL FIRE Boost Backcountry Paramedic Service

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The San Diego County Fire Authority and CAL FIRE are today making a major upgrade to fire and emergency medical response by launching around-the-clock paramedic service at the County’s Intermountain fire station, east of Ramona. 

The upgrade is part of an overall effort to increase paramedic capabilities throughout the County Fire Authority’s service area. A new paramedic engine at Intermountain is the sixth that the County Fire Authority has added over the past few years. Other new, County Fire Authority-funded paramedic engines now operate out of the Otay, Jamul, Lake Morena, Pine Valley and Descanso stations.

“This is a big step forward in our backcountry and represents our latest effort to bolster emergency medical services for residents across the region,” said Supervisor Dianne Jacob. “In the past dozen years, the county has invested more than $320 million on fire protection and emergency medical improvements, and bringing paramedic support to Intermountain builds on that.”

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In Ramona, the area surrounding the Intermountain fire station is well-populated and state Route 78 is busy, with traffic-related incidents that require medical intervention and paramedic response. Starting July 1 at 6 p.m., a County-funded, CAL FIRE-staffed paramedic fire engine will begin serving the area 24/7. New staff positions include a fire captain, two fire apparatus engineers and three firefighter paramedics.

This is the first time in history that the station has been staffed at this level.

“This is an exciting time in the evolution of County Fire,” said Tony Mecham, Chief of CAL FIRE San Diego Unit and County Fire.

The ongoing cooperation between CAL FIRE and the County of San Diego enhances public safety when it comes to all types of emergencies.

The Intermountain fire station is located at 25858 CA-78, Ramona, CA 92065.