CARLSBAD — Carlsbad City Councilmember Kevin Shin has sent a letter to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors seeking greater clarity about emergency services at McClellan-Palomar Airport.
In the July 13 letter, Shin asked the county to bring together the agencies involved in responding to emergencies at the airport.
“My purpose for writing is not to assert that deficiencies exist,” Shin wrote. “Rather, it is to request that you convene a discussion among the various agencies that respond to airport incidents, including the City of Carlsbad, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority Administration and San Diego County Fire Protection District, to ensure the necessary cooperation and collaboration framework is in place concerning emergency services at Palomar Airport.”
Shin told The Coast News that, as a retired fire captain serving on the City Council, he felt he was “the right guy in the right place at the right time” to start the conversation, hoping to “unpackage this thing publicly” and “provide transparency.”
The letter was addressed to Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer, who could not be reached for comment because she is on maternity leave. Vice Chair Monica Montgomery Steppe and Chair Pro Tem Paloma Aguirre also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Fire Chief Mike Calderwood said during a June council meeting that the airport contracts with Pro-Tec, a private company, to staff two firefighters and maintain a supply of specialized firefighting foam required for aircraft crashes.
“They work about 19 hours a day,” Calderwood said. “Everything else … those are all handled by your local fire department, and on the larger incidents, we’ll use our automatic aid from neighboring agencies around us.”
The Carlsbad Fire Department conducts joint emergency exercises with the airport’s private firefighting team every three years, according to Calderwood, as required under the airport’s master plan.
The chief added that, to his knowledge, there is no mutual aid agreement or other formal agreement between the city and the airport governing emergency response.
Shin said the limited staffing was among his primary concerns.
“What happens if that guy calls in sick?” he asked.
The letter cited the growth of commercial air service at the airport, noting that nearly 10,000 passengers now board flights there each month.
Shin said he believed the airport’s emergency preparedness “seemed inadequate prior to this taking place” and has not improved as commercial operations have expanded.
In addition to Shin’s letter, several local firefighter organizations have urged the Board of Supervisors to review emergency response operations at the airport.
Brandon Birse, president of the Carlsbad Firefighters Association, wrote in a July 13 letter that “increased passenger volumes, larger aircraft, and additional commercial carriers, the airport’s operational demands have changed significantly.”
“We believe it is appropriate to ensure that emergency response capabilities have evolved to meet those changes,” the letter continued. “ … We also believe the growing number of commercial passengers warrants a professional fire department capable of providing integrated Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) services, Advanced Life Support (ALS) medical care, and seamless coordination with the regional 9-1-1 system. These capabilities help ensure the highest level of preparedness for both daily medical emergencies and large-scale aircraft incidents.”
Ryan Mattke, president of the San Marcos Professional Firefighters Association, wrote in a June 20 letter that he wanted to “bring attention to the current level of public safety staffing at Palomar Airport along with the recommendation to transfer the fire suppression contract to the City of Carlsbad.”
Firefighters associations in Vista, Ontario and Solana Beach also submitted letters supporting a review of the airport’s current emergency response model.
Shin said that, in “putting that helmet back on,” he had a number of questions about emergency response at the airport and wanted those questions addressed in a public forum to ease concerns among Carlsbad residents.
He emphasized that his letter was unrelated to ongoing litigation or airport noise issues and instead focused solely on what “the fire nerd in me” saw as questions about emergency preparedness and interagency communication.
“Are we going to be a reactive government?” Shin said. “I don’t go that way, especially when it comes to public safety.”
