County fire chief outlines new Yucca Valley station, cancer‑prevention design and home‑hardening outreach

Assistant Chief Bill Villarino of the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District told the Yucca Valley Town Council the department has advanced the design for a new Station 41 and is adding new operational and prevention measures for the area.

Villarino said the station’s schematic design and design development are complete and staff hope to submit construction documents for plan check this summer and award a construction contract in the fall. He said the building will include three apparatus bays and living quarters and that the apparatus doors will face Joshua Lane.

The assistant chief said the station will pilot a “clean concept” intended to reduce firefighter exposure to carcinogens. “When the guys come back from any type of fire… they’ll get their next set of turnouts because we each individual has two sets of turnouts,” Villarino said. He said crews will walk through a decontamination area with individual showers and a special washing machine for turnouts before entering the main station.

Villarino highlighted operations and prevention work in the district, including a residential assessment program (RAP) that dispatches engine crews to advise homeowners on defensible space and structure hardening. “We can also give recommendations where to move their wood piles… Some of the dangerous items around there that they can help, make their house harden their structure,” he said, adding that the fire department does not have authority to force property owners to clear vegetation; code enforcement and land services handle enforcement.

He described fuels‑reduction crews active in the basin and work planned in Pioneer Town and Needles, and urged homeowners to adopt a three‑zone defensible‑space approach (including a 0–5 foot “Zone 0” nearest the home) to reduce the risk from embers and nearby ignitions. Villarino noted that embers can travel miles in high winds and that non‑hardened items such as RVs and wood decks adjacent to homes frequently enable fire spread.

Villarino also said the county board approved the purchase of 10 reserve engines for the county fleet and that one of those new reserve engines will be assigned to the Yucca Valley battalion. “A new fire engine today is about $1,000,000,” Villarino said, adding the reserve purchase aims to ensure operable apparatus are available when mutual aid or surge deployments occur.

Council members thanked Villarino for the update and asked follow‑up questions about the station layout and timelines. Councilmember Lombardo asked whether the county would incorporate community art on the station; Villarino said the county would coordinate with the town.

The presentation was discussion only; no council action was taken at the meeting.