Fire Protection District

The San Bernardino County Fire Protection District provides fire protection, emergency medical response, rescue, emergency communications, fire prevention, hazardous materials oversight, emergency preparedness, and other public-safety services across a large and geographically diverse service area. This article explains what the district does, how its major divisions and programs differ, where residents can locate fire stations and official services, how to request incident or medical records, how fire prevention and burn-permit requirements work, and what information to prepare before contacting the appropriate office.

Fire District Service Area

The San Bernardino County Fire Protection District is a community-based, all-hazard emergency services provider. Its mission combines protection of the public with organizational sustainability, performance excellence, and safety. The district provides services through a regional structure while maintaining accountability to the communities it serves.

San Bernardino County covers 20,160 square miles, making it the largest county by area in the continental United States. The Fire Protection District's jurisdiction encompasses approximately 19,200 square miles and includes more than 60 communities and cities as well as all unincorporated areas of the county.

The size and geography of the district affect the types of emergencies its personnel prepare for. The service area extends from the Los Angeles County line to the Colorado River and north toward Nevada, Kern County, and Inyo County. It includes densely developed urban areas, mountain communities, desert areas, industrial centers, major interstate highway and railroad corridors, recreation areas, and resort communities.

Because of those conditions, district operations address hazards that can include structural and wildland fires, floods, earthquakes, hazardous materials incidents, transportation emergencies, train derailments, medical emergencies, and other all-risk incidents. The district also operates support functions that extend beyond emergency response, including prevention, inspection, hazardous waste programs, training, communications, fleet and facility support, and emergency planning.

Core Fire District Services

The district organizes its public services through several operational and administrative areas. The official Fire District services page separates core emergency services from Fire Marshal functions, emergency services planning, human resources, forms, fees, and other support programs.

Fire and Emergency Response

Fire stations throughout the district provide the local operational presence for emergency response. Firefighters respond to fires and medical calls as well as traffic collisions and other incidents requiring trained emergency personnel. District statistics for July 1 through August 31, 2026, recorded 23,915 total calls for service, including 18,725 EMS calls, 1,544 fires, and 1,649 traffic collisions.

Residents trying to identify the station serving a particular community should use the district's official fire stations page. The district also maintains operational divisions covering the West Valley, East Valley, mountain communities, South Desert, and North Desert. Station status can vary; the official contact information identifies some locations as inactive, so an older station address should not be assumed to represent an active response location.

For an emergency requiring immediate fire, rescue, or medical response, residents should use 9-1-1 rather than attempting to contact an individual fire station or administrative division.

Emergency Medical Services

Emergency Medical Services is part of the district's EMS, Special Operations and Training operation. EMS is responsible for supporting pre-hospital medical care and for district functions that include compliance with emergency medical mandates, advanced and basic life support equipment and program development, education and training, quality improvement and assurance, ambulance administration, medical billing and collection, and EMS data collection and reporting.

This distinction matters when a resident is handling paperwork after an emergency. A fire or general incident report and a medical or EMS report are requested through different district channels. Medical billing functions are also associated with EMS rather than the Office of the Fire Marshal or an individual fire station.

Special Operations

The district's EMS, Special Operations and Training program supports resources that are not normally assigned to a typical fire station. Its work includes Emergency Medical Services, specialized training, wildland fire suppression, and helicopter-related resources.

Training subjects include municipal and wildland firefighting, incident command and management, hazardous materials response, rescue, emergency medical operations, urban search and rescue, aircraft crash rescue and firefighting, Emergency Operations Center training, confined space operations, auto extrication, and flammable gas and liquid firefighting.

The Wildland Section includes hand crew firefighters and Heavy Fire Equipment Operators. These personnel support fire-hazard fuel reduction and wildfire suppression. During periods when they are not actively engaged in wildfire response, hand crews work on reducing hazardous live and dead vegetation. Heavy equipment, including bulldozers, can support containment-line construction, flood mitigation, and hazardous-fuel reduction.

The district also supports paramedics assigned through the Sheriff's aviation program. Those resources can be used for rescue, emergency medical transportation, and wildfire suppression when an incident requires specialized aircraft and personnel.

Fire Prevention and Regulation

The Office of the Fire Marshal is the district's inspection, investigation, and regulatory operation. It has responsibilities both before and after emergencies, including fire prevention, code enforcement, hazardous materials oversight, investigations, and programs intended to reduce risks to homes, businesses, property, and the environment.

The Office of the Fire Marshal includes Community Safety, Hazardous Materials, and Household Hazardous Waste functions. Residents and businesses should direct regulatory questions to the correct section rather than assuming that a neighborhood fire station handles permits, construction plan reviews, hazardous materials records, or fire code enforcement.

Community Safety Services

The Community Safety Division focuses on prevention through education, engineering, and enforcement of fire codes. Its services include:

Plan review
Construction inspections
Annual fire inspections
Fire and arson investigations
Public education
Special event permits

The district's Community Safety information also provides fire prevention standards and reference documents covering subjects such as fire alarm systems, fire sprinkler systems, fire apparatus access roads, construction-site fire safety, key boxes, building identification, high-pile storage, fire department connections, water systems, gates and access obstructions, and other regulated conditions.

For a construction project or special event, users should review the applicable district forms and standards before submitting material. Fire prevention requirements can differ by the type of property, system, use, or project. Submitting documents to an unrelated Fire District division can delay review because inspection and regulatory functions are handled through the Fire Marshal organization rather than ordinary emergency-response operations.

Burn Permit Requirements

The district's burn status information stated on September 8, 2026, that an open fire permit is required to burn residential or agricultural vegetation waste within the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District. Residents planning this type of burning should obtain the district's online burn permit before conducting the burn.

Having a permit does not mean burning is allowed under all conditions. The district requires open fires to be extinguished during Red Flag or Fire Weather Watch conditions, when local winds exceed 10 miles per hour, or when Fire Department personnel direct that the fire be extinguished. The exception identified by the district is for fires fueled solely by natural gas or propane.

The district also requires residents to report their intent to burn online according to the instructions provided with the burn-permit process. Because fire-weather conditions and operational restrictions can change, users should review the district's current status before burning rather than relying on an earlier permit or an older status notice.

Hazardous Materials Programs

Hazardous Materials is another Office of the Fire Marshal function. The district manages hazardous materials and hazardous waste programs through its Certified Unified Program Agency operations. The purpose is different from emergency fire response: the program addresses regulated environmental and hazardous-material activities at the local government level.

Household Hazardous Waste is a separate district program intended to provide safe and efficient hazardous waste management services. Residents dealing with household hazardous waste should use that program rather than taking materials to a fire station unless the district specifically identifies a location or event for the material involved.

Emergency Dispatch and Communications

The Fire Protection District is dispatched through CONFIRE, a Joint Powers Authority communications system. The district's CONFIRE Communications information explains that the system operates two Fire and EMS communications centers, one in Rialto and another in Hesperia. The two centers use a common telephone and radio system and share dispatch responsibilities.

The dual-center arrangement provides backup capacity. If a major incident affects one communications center or sharply increases radio traffic or 9-1-1 call volume, the other location can assist. CONFIRE functions as a secondary Public Safety Answering Point and provides Fire and EMS dispatch services for participating agencies.

CONFIRE also serves an operational-area role during major incidents. It can coordinate mutual-aid needs between local resources and the Region VI Office of Emergency Services Operations Center. This is particularly relevant during incidents requiring multiple agencies, where emergency resources must be coordinated across jurisdictions rather than managed solely by one neighborhood fire station.

County Emergency Alerts

Residents can receive emergency information through several government alert systems. The district's Alert and Warning System explains the county's Telephone Emergency Notification System, commonly called TENS.

The County uses a database of landline telephone numbers, updated every six months, for emergency notifications to landline phones. Residents can register additional contact methods to receive emergency text messages on cell phones, add Voice over Internet Protocol numbers, and manage their account using a valid email address.

TENS alerts generally target affected geographic areas rather than the entire county. Registration requires a valid San Bernardino County address, and alerts are associated with the address entered. This makes the address an important part of registration: users should provide the location for which they want emergency notifications rather than treating the system simply as a general county news subscription.

Residents without internet access can request TENS registration support by telephone Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The San Bernardino Ready application is another preparedness option described by the district. Its features include a five-step family emergency plan, county news and alerts, evacuation route and shelter information, emergency preparedness guides, and status-sharing tools. The district website also displays weather and incident warnings for situations that are active or anticipated.

Fire and EMS Reports

The Fire Protection District accepts requests for several different categories of records. Selecting the correct record type is one of the most useful ways to avoid sending a request to the wrong program.

The district's report request page separates records into three categories: fire and incident reports, medical or EMS and billing reports, and CUPA or hazardous materials records.

Fire and Incident Reports

For a fire or incident report, the district instructs requesters to email countyfirereports@sbcfire.org. The request should include:

Date of the incident
Time of the incident
Address of the incident

Fire and incident reports are subject to a $15 fee plus $0.25 per page. Providing the date, time, and location as requested helps distinguish the incident from other calls and gives district staff the identifying information specified for the request process.

Medical and EMS Reports

Medical, EMS, and billing report requests use a different email address: emsreports@sbcfire.org. The district also instructs requesters to provide the date, time, and address of the incident. These reports are subject to a $15 fee plus $0.25 per page.

A person seeking medical or EMS documentation should not use the fire and incident report email solely because firefighters responded to the same event. The district specifically separates EMS and medical records from general fire and incident reports.

Hazardous Materials Records

CUPA and hazardous materials records are handled separately through hazmatrecords@sbcfire.org. These records relate to the district's hazardous materials regulatory functions and should not be confused with an emergency incident report simply because hazardous materials personnel may have been involved in a response.

Fire Stations and Divisions

The district divides much of its field operation into geographic divisions. Division 1 covers West Valley locations, Division 2 covers East Valley locations, Division 3 serves mountain areas, Division 4 covers the South Desert, and Division 5 covers the North Desert.

Within those divisions are numerous fire stations serving communities such as Fontana, Upland, Bloomington, San Bernardino, Mentone, Grand Terrace, Crestline, Lake Arrowhead, Yucca Valley, Needles, Twentynine Palms, Hesperia, Adelanto, Phelan, Wrightwood, and other areas.

The official station directory should be used when a resident needs a station address or current administrative division information. Some stations in the directory are expressly identified as inactive. Others may have specialized designations, including contract or paid-call-firefighter locations. A station's presence in the directory therefore should not be interpreted as confirmation that it provides every administrative, inspection, records, or permit service.

For questions about plan review, inspections, permits, code enforcement, or fire investigations, the Office of the Fire Marshal or Community Safety operation is the more appropriate starting point. For record copies, the district's designated report-request process should be used. Emergency calls should go through 9-1-1 and the dispatch system rather than an administrative station telephone number.

Wildland Fire Operations

Wildland fire is a significant part of district operations because the jurisdiction includes mountain, desert, recreational, and wildland-urban interface areas. The district's wildland programs support fire suppression by creating containment lines, reducing hazardous fuels, developing defensible areas, and providing specialized personnel and heavy equipment.

Professional hand crews can construct fire lines and support other suppression operations. This can also allow engines and medic resources to return to other emergency assignments when appropriate. Bulldozers expand the district's ability to create containment lines and handle work that would be difficult to accomplish with hand crews alone.

The district's broader wildland operation also includes prevention activities. During winter periods, hand crews focus on reducing hazardous live and dead vegetation. During wildfire season, those same specialized resources can be assigned to active suppression efforts.

District Programs and Public Education

The Fire Protection District operates community, wildland, rescue, and ceremonial programs in addition to its routine emergency response. District programs include Urban Search and Rescue, Swift Water Rescue, the Ambulance Operator program, Certified Unified Program Agency functions, Fire Corps volunteers, Fire Explorers, and public education.

Swift water rescue is a significant operational specialty. The district states that all County firefighters receive basic swift water rescue training and that more than 100 County firefighters have advanced swift water rescue training.

Public education focuses on providing residents and businesses with information intended to prevent common fires, accidents, and injuries. The Fire Explorer program is directed to youth ages 14 through 20 and provides exposure to the physical and mental demands associated with a professional firefighting career.

The district also maintains Fire Corps volunteer opportunities, while Human Resources provides information about employment, job descriptions, employee resources, and current Fire District openings. Recruitment information may include preparation for firefighter and paramedic opportunities when those recruitments are open.

District Statistics and Fees

The district publishes fiscal-year statistics so residents can review Fire Protection District activity over time. Its Fire District statistics page includes reports for multiple fiscal years, including fiscal year 2026-27 and earlier reporting periods.

Separate financial reporting includes annual reports, budget information, and Fire Service Fee schedules. Because fee schedules are published by fiscal year, users dealing with a Fire Marshal service, permit, inspection, or other fee-based activity should rely on the applicable current schedule rather than a document from a previous fiscal year.

The Office of the Fire Marshal identified a fiscal year 2026/2027 fee schedule in the provided district information. The amount of a particular Fire Marshal fee depends on the applicable service and should be taken from that official schedule. The only specific report-copy charges provided here are the district's $15 report fee and $0.25-per-page charge for fire and incident reports and for medical or EMS reports.

Preparing Before Contacting Fire

The information to prepare depends on the service being requested. For a fire or EMS report, the district specifically asks for the incident date, time, and address. For TENS registration, the system requires a valid San Bernardino County address, and account management uses a valid email address. For a construction, inspection, or special-event matter, the appropriate Fire Marshal standards, forms, and service category should be identified before documents are submitted.

Residents can avoid several common service problems by distinguishing among the district's functions:

Use 9-1-1 for an active emergency rather than calling an administrative office or fire station.

Use the Fire Marshal operation for inspection, prevention, investigation, regulatory, and fire-code matters.

Use the designated fire-report process for a fire or general incident record.

Use the separate EMS reporting channel for medical, EMS, or billing records.

Use the hazardous materials records channel for CUPA and hazardous materials records.

Verify current burn conditions even after obtaining an open fire permit.

Check the official station directory before relying on a station address because some locations are identified as inactive.

Use the current fiscal-year fee schedule when a Fire District service is subject to a published fee.

These distinctions are especially useful because the Fire Protection District performs both emergency and regulatory functions. The closest fire station may be the right operational resource during an emergency, but it is not automatically the office responsible for a permit, record request, inspection, hazardous materials matter, or administrative service.

Fire District Offices

San Bernardino County Fire Protection District
598 S Tippecanoe Ave, San Bernardino, CA 92408
909.387.5974

Division 1 – West Valley
Fontana Civic Center, 17001 Upland Avenue, Fontana, CA 92335
909.356.2520

Division 2 – East Valley
200 E 3rd Street, San Bernardino, CA 92410
909.918.2200

Division 3 – Mountain
301 South Hwy. 173, P.O. Box 130, Lake Arrowhead, CA 92352
909.336.7086

Division 4 – South Desert
6942 Airway Avenue, Suite A, Yucca Valley, CA 92284
760.228.6380

Division 5 – North Desert
17288 Olive Street, Hesperia, CA 92345
760.243.8595

Division 10 – EMS Division
598 S Tippecanoe Ave, San Bernardino, CA 92408
909.382.5405

Division 11 – Training & Safety Division
2824 East “W” St., Bldg. 302, San Bernardino, CA 92408
909.382.5405

Division 12 – Office of the Fire Marshal
598 S Tippecanoe Ave, San Bernardino, CA 92408
909.386.8400

Community Safety Section – High Desert Government Center
15900 Smoke Tree, Hesperia, CA 92345
760.995.8190

Community Safety Section – City of Fontana Office
8353 Sierra Ave, Fontana, CA 92335
909.428.8890

Household Hazardous Waste Program
2824 East “W” St., Bldg. 302, San Bernardino, CA 92415-0799
909.382.5401

Division 13 – Wildland & Aviation Division
18697 Verdemont Ranch Road, San Bernardino, CA 92407
909.387.5974

Fire Protection District FAQs

Can I give firefighters information about my household before an emergency?

Yes. The Fire Protection District offers Community Connect, which allows residents to create a profile with information that may help responders protect household members and property during an emergency. This can be useful when a household has details responders should know before arriving. Residents can access Community Connect through the official San Bernardino County Fire Protection District website. Because household circumstances can change, review the information in your profile periodically and keep important details current.

Will every medical 9-1-1 call automatically send an ambulance with lights and sirens?

Not necessarily. San Bernardino County Fire identifies an Emergency Communications Nurse System that allows nurses to assess certain medical calls and determine the appropriate level of response. The program recognizes that not every 9-1-1 medical call requires the same emergency response. The assessment occurs as part of the emergency communications process; residents experiencing an emergency should still use 9-1-1 rather than trying to decide which Fire District program should handle the situation.

Where can I check requirements for an AB 38 inspection?

AB 38 inspection information is handled through the Office of the Fire Marshal. The district's Office of the Fire Marshal page provides access to its AB 38 Inspection Report request option along with related inspection and regulatory services. Property owners should review the official requirements before submitting a request because the needed fire-safety review can depend on the property and applicable requirements.

Where should I look for current firefighter job openings?

The district separates employment information from its emergency-response services. Its official services page directs applicants to Human Resources information for current openings, job descriptions, salary and benefit information, and employee resources. Firefighter and firefighter/paramedic recruitment may open periodically, so applicants should rely on the current postings rather than assuming a position is continuously accepting applications.