Hazardous Materials Incident Closes I-10 for 10 Hours // August 28, 2024 // Report on Conditions

We’re the EMS Bureau, CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department, and you're watching Report on Conditions. This week we'll look behind the scenes at the work it took to get Quint 90 into service in Perris. We'll also take you to a hazardous materials fire that shut down Interstate 10 for several hours. Perris, Engine 1 with Report on Conditions. Hi, and thank you for joining us on today's episode of Report on Conditions, I'm Alex Izaguirre. We're starting this week's report with a behind the scenes look at putting our newest apparatus, Quint 90, into service: This process started three years ago. When you're working with a fire apparatus, there's so many rules and regulations to follow. It's not like walking on a car lot and buying a car today. You have to follow NFPA. The needs of your department have to be met. Engineering has to sign off on it. The manufacturer has to sign off of it. The chassis is built by one manufacturer and the finished body is built by another. And working with all of that and coordinating parts, the construction of the vehicle takes a long time to make sure that is done right. So the apparatus committee is actually the major driver of this. We work with the equipment committee that's made up of individuals from our department to see what they want to put on it and how we want to operate it. The apparatus committee then helps to design the vehicle that can meet those needs. On the committees, we have firefighters, chiefs, engineers, a well-rounded committee of people from the department. We also use subject matter experts who are on the committee, but they come in and advise us. They'll go to the factory with us and help with the final inspections to make sure the truck passes and meets all of our needs. So today we finished with our pre-delivery inspection and now we're into the outfitting. All of our equipment will be here that's on the current Quint 90 and some of the new complement. And we are outfitting it for brackets, accessories, basically laying out the entire truck. We've gone to clean cab, so it's a better environment for them. This also has stability control. It's also more ergonomic in the design. It rides nicer. It also has the newest technology and lighting so they'll have better lighting on scene. It's a much safer apparatus. We'd like to think Will Kalmikov of Fire Apparatus Solutions for all of his help. They also are our dealer for this apparatus and have gone to the inspections with us. It's been a very smooth process for this apparatus. Last week, from August 19th through August 25th, the department responded to a total of 3,948 calls for service. This included 2,992 medical emergencies and 150 fire-related calls. Let's look at some highlighted incidents: At around 6:30 p.m. on Monday, August 19th, firefighters were dispatched to a reported traffic collision near the intersection of Gilman Springs Road and Bridge Street in unincorporated Lakeview. The first arriving engine reported a vehicle had collided with a power pole, knocking it over and caught on fire. Power lines were down near the vehicle, which hindered firefighters access until Southern California Edison could arrive and shut the power off. The vehicle was destroyed and a ten by ten spot of vegetation also burned. There were no injuries to the parties in the vehicle, and firefighters were on scene for about an hour to contain the fire. On Thursday, August 22nd, 911 dispatchers received multiple emergency calls reporting a fire near Highway 243 and Mount Edna Road in unincorporated Banning. The battalion chief arrived on scene and reported a vehicle that had crashed and caught on fire, which had spread to the vegetation. The fire was approximately ten acres in light to moderate fuels, burning at a moderate rate. Highway 243 was closed from San Gorgonio Avenue to Poppet Flats to allow for firefighter safety. With multiple air resources, 19 engines, and assistance from the Forest Service, the forward rate of spread was stopped by 7:20 p.m.. Firefighters remained on scene throughout the night, working on hotspots, strengthening containment lines and full control of the fire, which was achieved at 2 p.m. the following day. A total of 31 acres were burned. On Friday, August 23rd at approximately 2 p.m., multiple reports were received of a camper van on fire in the 2000 block of Ramsey Street in Banning. The first arriving chief officer reported a motorhome burning along with a quarter acre of vegetation. Multiple additional engines and air resources were requested due to the spread of the fire, which quickly reached five acres in light, flashy fuels. The fire was in close proximity to the truck scales, and one lane of Interstate 10 was closed for firefighter safety. The forward rate of spread was stopped at 3:45 p.m., and crews worked for about six hours to fully contain the fire at 8:20 p.m. to 86 acres. No injuries were reported. Our final incident of the week brings us to westbound Interstate 10 near the Cactus City rest area, east of Indio. At 2:45 a.m. on Sunday, August 25th, firefighters were dispatched to a reported semi truck on fire. The first arriving engine reported a fully involved trailer that was hauling hazardous material that were reactive to water. Due to this report, a full hazmat response was requested as well as a drone to be able to monitor the incident from above. Firefighters could not attempt to extinguish the fire until all the reactive hazardous chemicals had burned off, which took several hours. At 6:30 a.m., firefighters were able to start suppression efforts, and the fire was contained to the trailer shortly thereafter, both westbound and eastbound I-10 were closed for an extended period of time while firefighters worked. No injuries were reported. Did you know that the lush, green annual grass growing in your yard could be putting your home at risk for wildfire damage? With the recent increase in rainfall, seasonal grasses are growing quickly, and when they dry out, they become fuel for wildfires. Don't wait until it's too late to protect your home. Visit rvcfire.org for information on how to create defensible space and reduce the risk of wildfire damage. That's all for this week's Report on Conditions. Follow your firefighters in action on our social media @calfirerru and stay up to date on incidents happening countywide. If you caught any great footage of our firefighters at work or out in the community, send them to us rrupio@fire.ca.gov. On behalf of your Public Affairs and Community Education Bureau, I'm Alex Izaguirre. Thanks for watching.