Fire Department
Fire protection and paramedic services are provided by the Yucaipa Fire Department through a staffing agreement with CAL FIRE. The Yucaipa Fire Department also provides fire suppression and paramedic service to the Community of Oak Glen by contract with the County of San Bernardino. Yucaipa’s unique location, varied topography, vast open space, and dry weather make the community especially vulnerable to fire. The community has many High and Very High Fire Severity Zones and has witnessed many significant wildland fires, most recently the El Dorado, Apple, and Sandalwood.
A fourth fire station in Oak Glen is unstaffed but has on-call volunteer reserve firefighters for significant incidents (Brush Patrol-555).
The department maintains an active volunteer reserve firefighter program with 20 personnel. To ensure continuity of service and for assistance on larger incidents, the Yucaipa Fire Department maintains automatic aid agreements with the CAL FIRE San Bernardino Unit, Redlands Fire Department, Calimesa Fire Department, San Bernardino County Fire Department, Riverside County Fire Department, Highland Fire Department, and United States Forest Service. The Fire Department also participates in the California Fire Service and Rescue Emergency Mutual Aid Plan which allows them to give and receive resource assistance from across the state.
In addition to fire prevention and suppression activities, the Yucaipa Fire Department is active in the community. For the past 40 years, the Yucaipa Valley Fire and Rescue Association has partnered with community groups for its Spark of Love Toy Drive during the holidays. Every year the program distributes toys to hundreds of families in need throughout the Yucaipa Valley area. This is just one of the ways the Yucaipa Fire Department is privileged to give back to the community.
“The Yucaipa Fire and Paramedic Department strives to provide the highest level of life safety services to the residents and visitors of the City of Yucaipa. I am honored to serve as the City’s Fire Chief and I couldn’t be more proud of the men and women of the Yucaipa Fire and Paramedic Department who mitigate all emergency types 23 times a day while providing excellent customer service to the public we protect. I constantly look to improve the level of service we provide to meet the future needs of the City and to be a valued part of the community we serve. In 2019 we did see a marked increase in response times, in correlation with an increase of calls for service. I am working diligently to reduce our response times back into the 4-5 minute range by seeking additional funding to increase staff.”
Fire Prevention Week Safety Videos
Message from Fire Chief Malinowski
