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The incident came to light in sworn testimony from the recently settled lawsuit that cost the city nearly $500,000 . . . ▶▶▶▶▶ |
Robert Heimpel was a neighbor of the Rexfords on Creek Road in Poway. Under oath, in a deposition given February 2, 2009 Heimpel described how during the 2003 Cedar Fire he found a Poway Fire Department truck and crew stationed in front of the Rexford residence. Heimpel wondered why they were there "when they were sorely needed a couple miles down the road." He spoke to the crew, some of whom he knew, and they said they weren't happy to be there, "but the boss told us to be here." Sworn testimony of Robert Heimpel • Exhibit 41, pgs 77-79 |
But how could Rexford get a fire truck to come to her neighborhood and park at the foot of her driveway when hundreds, if not thousands, of people whose homes were directly threatened couldn't even get through to 9-1-1?? ▶▶▶▶▶ | According to Poway Fire Chief Mark Sanchez, she called Poway's Emergency Operations Center - a number inaccessible to the public - and she was hysterical. |
Who did Rexford talk to at the Emergency Operations Center? ▶▶▶▶▶ | Assistant City Manager Penny Riley was in charge at the time. When asked if she spoke to Rexford that morning and instructed the Fire Department to send a truck to her residence Riley answered, "It is not in my best interest, or the City's best interest for me to talk to you. If you were a reporter I would say 'No comment'." |
Who did the E.O.C. do? ▶▶▶▶▶ | According to a fire fighter on the scene, someone repeatedly called a Fire Chief, who was in the midst of battling the wildfire, and insisted he send a truck to Betty's house. |
What happened next? ▶▶▶▶▶ | The Chief dispatched a fire engine and three man crew to Rexford's - even though, according to fire fighters I spoke to, Rexford's house was under no direct threat. |
Where did the crew come from? ▶▶▶▶▶ | The dispatched truck and crew had been part of a strike team protecting a home under imminent threat. That home was later destroyed in the fire. |
How was it that a crew and fire equipment were so readily available? ▶▶▶▶▶ | Actually, Poway fire resources were stretched so thin that pick-up trucks with garden hoses had been pressed into service. According to Chief Mark Sanchez, as the Cedar Fire approached, because crews had been dispatched to other cities in Southern California, Poway was left with only 15 firefighters to protect the entire city - meaning 20% of Poway's fire fighting capability at the time was dedicated to Rexford in an area where there was NO DIRECT THREAT to homes. |
How long did the engine and crew remain at Rexford's? ▶▶▶▶▶ | According to former Fire Chiefs and numerous fire fighters, Engine 153 and its crew made three trips to Rexford's house which was under no direct threat. The total time the fire fighters remained near her house was over 16 hours - more time than any PFD truck or crew spent in any other single location - even those where homes were burned! |
| Who knew about the incident? ▶▶▶▶▶ | There was joking about it in the EOC that morning. When some asked "Where's the Fire Chief?" the answer was, "He's down at Rexford's holding Betty's hand!" Rexford's demands on the fire department were common knowledge - yet this incident infuriated them. The Firefighters' Association considered going public after the Cedar Fire but did not for fear of the Department getting a black eye. |
Was this an isolated incident? ▶▶▶▶▶ | No! In August of 2003 in the week following a grass fire in Beeler Canyon, Poway Fire Department engines & crews were stationed on Creek Rd for four full days with one instruction from their Chief, "I don't care where you park, as long as you can be seen from Betty Rexford's house." |
So what does Rexford say about all this? ▶▶▶▶▶ | On Tuesday, October 6, at the Poway City Council meeting, in front of the public, video cameras and the media Rexford said, "I hope you have proof of that because none of that is true. I have proof that it wasn't. If you're making allegations, then you can talk to my attorney because I checked the fire records. There were no firetrucks brought down Beeler Canyon Road or Creek Road." Rexford is lying. We have the handwritten daily logs of two Poway Fire Department captains (Captain Andy Page's log; Captain Lefever's log) who were on the scene; quotes from the Poway Fire Chief and information from interviews with numerous firefighters. |
