The Idyllwild Fire Protection District (IFPD) Board of Commissioners agenda items for its Jan. 24 board meeting included an educational session at noon, followed by the swearing in of three board members, followed by a closed session, followed by the regular session meeting of the board.

During the educational session, IFPD counsel Steven Graham conducted the bi-annual workplace ethics refresher pursuant to Assembly Bill 1234.

Following the swearing in of board members Dan Messina, Rhonda Andrewson and Stephanie Yost to new terms, the board went into closed session to discuss one case of anticipated litigation. At 3 p.m. the regular public session of the board began.

Reports were solicited from and presented by board members, the fire chief and support organizations associated with IFPD, including the Idyllwild Career Firefighters Association and the Idyllwild Volunteer Company.

President Messina reminded the public that it was the goal of the board to be 100% transparent to the public and asked for the public’s help in identifying areas wherein the district could be more open to the public. “Help us help you,” was his message.

Then followed a discussion of the mutual aid program, during which Chief Mark LaMont emphasized two reasons why it was essential to IFPD. Participating in the mutual aid of other fire protection districts guaranteed that they will show up when we need their support during fires on our Hill, he said. (“And we need a hundred engines for our fires.”) Also, when IFPD participates in the aid of other departments via mutual aid, it receives monetary compensation in an amount that is a major source of income supporting IFPD’s budget.

LaMont spoke about the risks and sacrifices firefighters undergo. The chief contrasted their stress with that of players in the National Football League (NFL), which recently canceled the remainder of a game in progress when players were obviously seriously affected by a life-threatening injury suffered on the field by one of their number. The chief reminded that NFL players are paid far, far more than firefighters, whose duty to carry on cannot be “canceled” because of stress producing situations they face in the performance of their duties. We have seen a dramatic increase in firefighter suicides in recent years, he said.

The minutes of the last regular meeting of the board on Nov. 15 and the November Incident Statistic / Ambulance Reports were approved on votes of 3-0, with two abstentions. The Financial and Bill Payments Reports for November and December were approved on votes of 5-0.

There followed discussion of upcoming board-member educational events and the agenda for the upcoming March board meeting, including the 2022 fiscal year audit and a 2024 fiscal year draft budget, followed by the acknowledgment of correspondence consisting of two service-rating forms filed in by members of the public who were grateful for services rendered to them by IFPD, and other grateful expressions of thanks.

The next regular public session of the IFPD board is scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday, March 28.