Nearly $125,000 in grants awarded to 18 local Fire Safe Councils throughout the San Diego region.
SAN DIEGO, May 31, 2023 – The Fire Safe Council of San Diego County hosted its 16th Annual Volunteer Awards Ceremony in Poway this morning, honoring several notable individuals and agencies who go above and beyond in creating fire safe and resilient communities. During the event, the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation presented 18 local, community-based Fire Safe Councils with a total of $123,610 in grants to help prevent and prepare for wildfires.
Funding was proudly provided by San Diego Gas & Electric, San Diego Regional Fire Foundation and the San Diego River Conservancy through the governor’s Wildfire Early Action Plan.
“Every community is unique and has different needs – these local Fire Safe Councils and the amazing volunteers who run them – work within their communities to provide services and programs that bring great benefits at a relatively low cost. We are so thrilled to celebrate these volunteers and recognize their efforts through the volunteer awards and SAFE grants” says Ann Baldridge, Executive Director of the Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego County and Vice President of the Fire Safe Council of San Diego County.
Fire Safe Councils are community-led, volunteer-based organizations with a mission to protect homes and communities from wildfires. The organizations provided with the grants assist their respective communities through a wide-range of activities, including fire-hardening homes, removing flammable plantings, hosting wood chipping events, installing signage, educating and assisting neighbors with emergency preparedness and more.
“Our support of all San Diego County Fire departments helps extinguish fires quickly, minimizing the loss of life and property from wildfires. Better yet, what if we could prevent fires in the first place? That is what our grants to our county fire safe councils accomplish as these citizen volunteers take these funds and educate our residents and do the hard work of clearing dead trees, bushes, and other debris from our roadsides, canyons, and anywhere a fire might start” said Joan Jones, Executive Director of the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation.” The following Fire Safe Councils received a grant award:
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“The safety of our customers, employees and the communities we serve is of the utmost importance at SDG&E,” said SDG&E Vice President of Wildfire and Climate Science Brian D’Agostino. “SDG&E has made wildfire prevention and preparedness central to our mission of providing clean, safe and reliable energy to our customers. We recognize that preparedness is also a community-wide effort and supporting Fire Safe Councils, as part of SDG&E’s SAFE San Diego Grant Program, helps to address specific community needs for the information and resources to help prevent and prepare for wildfires.”
About the Fire Safe Council of San Diego County:
The Fire Safe Council of San Diego County is administered by the Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego County (RCDGSDC) and governed by a Board of Directors that includes representatives from local, state, federal, and tribal fire agency partners. The FSCSDC provides programs and services to further fire prevention, education, and safety throughout the county and encourage community involvement.
The Fire Safe Council of San Diego County is a countywide facilitator of communication, cooperation and collaboration. San Diego County is a very large and diverse service area, so the FSCSDC encourages and empowers community volunteers to establish community Fire Safe Councils, there are currently 39 of these groups in neighborhoods throughout the county. (Link to interactive FSC map) These grassroots community Fire Safe Councils know their communities best and they are able to identify innovative solutions to meet the needs of their neighborhoods. Through partnership with local fire agencies, the staff of the RCDGSDC, and our regional network, we are able to work together to identify needs, provide funding opportunities, and get solutions on the ground more efficiently when we work together. Visit www.firesafesdcounty.org www.rcdsandiego.org
About the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation
For over 30 years the Fire Foundation has been the only fire foundation supporting all of San Diego County with the goal of “Making San Diego the Safest County in the Nation”. We accomplish this by providing fire and medical equipment to all fire agencies in the County with over 250 fire stations, and on a county-wide basis communication and dispatch technology and equipment to help improve response times and field communications.
Additionally, the Fire Foundation works to prevent fires and makes community members better prepared in case of fires by supporting all Fire Safe Councils in San Diego County with brush clearance, community education, and evacuation preparation. Lastly, we help prepare our youth for a career in public safety by supporting high school EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) and firefighting training; and with scholarships to new firefighters to attend Fire Academies and Paramedic School. Visit www.sdfirefoundation.org.