Mayor Jerry Sanders has come up with a new plan that will not only train the city's firefighters for the next big fire, but it could also put cash back in the city's coffer.
The plan will utilize a class offered by Miramar College called Fire Tech 265. Since participating firefighters will qualify as full-time students, state funding will pay for the training and generate an estimated $500,000 that the city and college district will share, NBC 7/39 reported.
Firefighters said the funding will come at a critical time when a lot of firefighters are retiring.
"That's about half a million in training dollars," said Assistant Fire Chief Tracy Jarman. "That's one of the areas that have been reduced year after year as the budget has gotten tighter and today, we talked about a unique partnership and it's going to be great."
Sanders also said Thursday that more than $15 million will be earmarked to fix the San Diego Fire Department's outdated communication system. It will take about two years before all of the improvements are in place.
A Blue Ribbon fire commission found the inability to communicate was the biggest problem workers faced during the Cedar Fire.
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