The benevolent fund had reached out to the Soboba Fire Department and asked if they could help as the Rodríguezes were coming from out of state and the local family had no availability to lodge them. Tribal Council authorized the Soboba Casino Resort to provide lodging to Tim Rodriguez’s parents and other family members after the tragic accident and through the funeral service.

Rodriguez, 44, was born at San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital in Banning. He was raised in Hemet where he graduated from West Valley High School in 1997. He attended Mt. San Jacinto College where he pursued an education in Fire Technology. Rodriguez worked at several fire stations before returning to his passion at Hemet Ryan Air Attack Base in 2022 as a Helitack Fire Captain.

Founded in 2006, the Riverside County Professional Firefighters Benevolent Fund proudly supports firefighters and cooperators in Riverside County. The firefighters of Riverside County provide fire and EMS services to one of the largest counties in California. It is the goal of the Riverside County Professional Firefighters Benevolent Fund to be able to support those men and women in their time of need. The organization also supports other nonprofit organizations that are affiliated with the fire service, such as cancer research and the burn institutes.

According to Director of Finance Matt Brandt, prior to the formation of the RCPFBF there was no support organization for the families of injured or fallen firefighters in Riverside County. “Years later the Cal Fire Benevolent Foundation would be formed by Cal Fire Local 2881, to serve their members throughout the state,” he explained. “While labor laws have change to provide more support for firefighters, there is still a tremendous burden placed on families when a firefighter suffers injury or death; this is where the RCPFBF steps in and can provide assistance that the departments cannot.”

The nonprofit was organized for the purpose of providing physical, financial and emotional support to members and their families during times of need, Brandt said, adding “Our support is provided by an all-volunteer Board of Directors in a non-political and non-denominational manner.”

Brandt was on the Cal Fire Local 2881, Riverside District Board as a Rank & File Representative in 2006. “In 2008, I became the Director of Finance for both Cal Fire Local 2881, Riverside District and the RCPFBF.  Since then, the two boards have separated into two different entities, and I have remained,” he said.

“The RCPFBF Board of Directors all agreed on providing the key supporters with recognition for their support of the families of Fire Captain Tim Rodriguez and Assistant Chief Josh Bischof,” Brandt said. “The indirect support that was provided to both families was greatly appreciated. Cal Fire and the State of California can provide staffing and indirect support to the families of fallen firefighters but cannot provide any direct financial support. The financial burden is placed on the families and is offset by support of Cal Fire Local 2881, the Cal Fire Benevolent Foundation, the Riverside County Professional Firefighters Benevolent Fund and key supporters like Soboba. If it was not for this support, the families would have to bear the burden of costs.”

For more information and to make donations, please visit www.rcpfbf.com.

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Mendoza, of Banning, is currently earning her Master’s in Emergency and Disaster Management from American Military University. Her background is in emergency preparedness for public transportation, dispatch communications, code compliance and physical access, and life safety systems.

She became interested in this line of work from an internship she served while an undergraduate student, working for the emergency preparedness coordinator at Omnitrans, a public transportation agency in San Bernardino.

“I enjoyed learning everything about the field and was attracted to the position at Soboba because It gives me the opportunity to use what I have learned to help people,” she said. “I spend my time split between both locations – the Victim’s Assistance Center at DPS or the Emergency Operations Center at the fire station.” Her job functions entail preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery for natural hazards, technological hazards and human caused hazards.

The tasks that are now her responsibility as coordinator were previously shared by multiple people at the Fire, DPS, Public Works and Administration departments. In addition, the Tribal Emergency Response Commission (TERC) will be working closely with Mendoza to create, implement and maintain emergency preparation plans.

Soboba Fire Chief Glenn Patterson said she will advise TERC on items relating to emergency preparedness, train TERC members, attend its meetings, coordinate with TERC in preparing Hazard Mitigation Plans and Emergency Operations Plans and coordinate with TERC in providing Tribal residents with preparedness materials and public education demonstrations.

Patterson said that Mendoza’s duties when working with the fire department will include planning, developing and coordinating responses to multi-hazard emergency or disaster conditions involving earthquakes, major fire/wildfires, hazardous materials, nuclear incidents, pandemics, imminent/actual flooding, imminent/actual dam failures and transportation networks.

“My priorities are to get staff training to be able to operate in the emergency operations center, update our emergency plans, and acquire more emergency supplies and resources for the tribe,” Mendoza said. “Moving forward I want to work with Fire and DPS to provide trainings for CPR, AED, CERT, Active shooter, situational awareness and more. I also want to do some exercises starting with evacuation drills and moving up to larger scale incident exercises.”

She will continue attending multiple training classes for a few more months but is already assisting in developing the Hazard Mitigation Plan, Emergency Operations Plan and organizing the Emergency Operations Center.

“What I enjoy most about my job is knowing at the end of the day I may make a difference in someone’s life,” Mendoza said. “Emergency preparedness is an investment in yourself, your family and your community. “I like to say it’s a lot like practicing for your sport. Practice makes you stronger, so you and your team can perform better. Emergency management is a team sport, we need all cylinders going and everyone on board,” she said. “The more participation we get in our program, the stronger it will make the Tribe.”

Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians • Contributed

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Measure U allows for purchase of new firefighting equipment

On November 8, 2016 Hemet passed Measure U, a 1% sales tax, the funds from which went into funding the city’s emergency services including police protection and crime prevention services, fire prevention and suppression services, and 9-1-1/paramedic services.

The tax has been a great boon to those men and women in Hemet who put themselves in harm’s way on a daily basis. This past October 23, it was a key factor in the Fire Department’s ability to get approval to buy new equipment for use in high risk situations. Fire Chief Scott Brown came to the City Council to petition the purchase of new, cutting-edge breathing apparatus for the firefighters of Hemet.

A breathing apparatus is the harness-like equipment worn over firefighting uniforms. It is a single piece of gear that serves as an oxygen store, (those big tanks on their backs) but also as a method for breathing that oxygen in smokey situations. This new purchase of 64 new apparatus, which, in total cost $351,498.77, essentially equates to 15 minutes of extra air for firefighters in the field. “That’s 15 minutes of rescue time.” says Chief Brown.

During a presentation, Chief Lloyd displayed the operational procedure in the use of breathing apparatus as well as a technique called, “buddy breathing.” With buddy breathing firefighters can, in the event of damage to a breathing unit, use the apparatus of another firefighter in order to keep everyone breathing.

Throughout the proposal, Fire Chief Brown was adamant about one thing: his gratitude toward the citizens and Fire Department supporters of Hemet who passed Measure U. “Purchases like these would be incredibly hard to come across without such a tax in place.  We’re here today because of Measure U.” said Brown, adding, “Fiscal sustainability is the name of the game in city government. Above all else, people sleep better knowing their first responders are equipped to do their job.”

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Search: No U-turn on funding

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