Pioneering Cooperative Spirit
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 Just east of the City of San Diego, the Thomas H. Owen Heartland Fire Training
Facility exists for the purpose of providing ongoing training for local
fire departments. What makes this particular training facility unique is
the fact that it is funded and operated by a Joint Powers Authority, which
consists of the Cities of Alpine, Bonita, El Cajon, La Mesa, Lemon Grove
and Santee, the Fire Protection Districts of Lakeside and San Miguel, and
contract agency Viejas.
Fire agencies today are beginning to realize the benefits to sharing the
cost of fire service delivery including equipment purchasing, automatic
aid agreements, operations, Emergency Medical Services, code enforcement
and the like. So, one might ask, “What makes this training facility
so special?” The answer to that question is that this particular facility
was pioneered over 40 years ago and continues to operate successfully to
this day. This very well could be one of the first practical applications
of a joint venture between 5 different fire agencies nation wide.
 On December 1, 1973, an agreement was made and entered into by and between
the City of El Cajon, City of La Mesa and the Fire Protection Districts
of Santee, Lakeside and Spring Valley. Subsequent to that, the agreement
was amended to change the name of Spring Valley to San Miguel as well as
recognizing the incorporation of the City of Santee.
These East County agencies represent Zone 4 of the San Diego County Mutual
Aid Agreement, and as such, are named “Heartland.” Thus, the
name became the Heartland Fire Training Facility. The name was later changed
to the Thomas H. Owen Heartland Fire Training Facility after it was dedicated
to one of its founders, former El Cajon Fire Chief Tom Owen.
The Authority is governed by a Commission which is comprised of elected
officials from each jurisdiction, along with a Board of Fire Chiefs which
includes each respective Chief.The annual budget to operate this facility
is paid for by each agency based on a formula using the number of personnel
from each agency. This number represents a percentage of the overall budget.
If an agency’s personnel represents 25% of the total number of personnel
using the facility, then that agency pays 25% of the Budget.
Since the facility has been in existence, it has had a reputation statewide
as a premier regional fire training center. It occupies about 4 acres of
land owned by the City of El Cajon. The facility consists of a 5 story
drill tower, an environmental building capable of performing “hot”
fires, a pump test area, two classrooms, one equipped with a digital simulator
used for testing and training.
 It has been instrumental in improving all aspects of emergency response
between the various Heartland fire agencies and has been one of the main
focal points in bringing the departments together in an efficient operational
manner for purposes of sharing resources under the Heartland Automatic
Aid Agreement.
One example of how this is accomplished is the “Color Group”
method of scheduling training sessions. The 23 engines, 5 trucks, and 6
paramedic ambulances use the facility at least twice a month per division
on regularly scheduled drill days. These units are divided into six color
groups and are scheduled for three hours at the facility per training session.
The truck companies are rotated to different color groups quarterly. This
allows personnel the opportunity to have exposure to the different trucks
within the zone.
During this time, they may be assigned to specialized training such as
high-rise, confined space, and hazardous materials or they will work on
individual training that cannot be performed at their respective stations.
When equipment and personnel are dispatched to an incident, the emergency
ground management and operational procedures are universal regardless of
the jurisdiction within which the incident occurs.
As the fire service continues to change, and innovation with regard to
the sharing of resources marches forward, the Thomas H. Owen Heartland
Fire Training Facility Authority stands alone as a pioneer in successful
cooperative spirit. |
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El Cajon CA 92020
