San Bernardino County Professional Firefighters Local 935
IAFF Local 935 is a labor organization that represents the men and women of the San Bernardino County Fire Departments in Big Bear City, Big Bear Lake, Colton, Loma Linda, and Montclair.
The International Association of Fire Fighters Local 935 is the labor organization that represents the men and women of the San Bernardino County Firefighters and the affiliate membership of the Colton, Loma Linda, Big Bear, and Montclair Fire Departments.
The Fire Fighters of Local 935 pride themselves on over 100 years of service to the communities within San Bernardino County. Each year, Local 935 Firefighters give their time and money to the local communities to foster relationships and serve those with special needs.
The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) is the driving force behind nearly every advance in the fire and emergency services in the 21st century.
We’re more than just a union; we’re a movement, a brotherhood and sisterhood that is powering advancements in fire and emergency services in the United States, Canada, and around the world.
With offices in Washington, D.C., and Ottawa, Ontario, the IAFF is the fire service’s strongest voice at the federal level. Our Political Action Committee, FIREPAC, is among the top one-half of 1% of all federally registered PACs in the United States.
Today, 85% of communities across the U.S. and Canada are protected by our over 365,000 members.
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ORIGINAL INCIDENT: November 9, 2023 | 11000 block A Avenue, Hesperia
Our members arrived shortly before 1 a.m. to a working fire in a single-story apartment unit. Firefighters advanced hose lines inside to search for occupants and stop the fire while truck-company members supported them with coordinated roof ventilation.
Crews held the fire to the unit of origin, limiting neighboring apartments to smoke damage. Victorville Fire assisted with two engines through mutual aid. No civilian or firefighter injuries were reported.
Apartment fires can place multiple families at risk from a single unit. Successful containment depends on a rapid, properly staffed response capable of search, fire attack, ventilation, exposure protection, EMS and command at the same time.
SAFETY MESSAGE: Never ignore a sounding alarm. Leave immediately, close doors behind you, use stairs instead of elevators and meet at your designated location.
SERVICE • PROFESSIONALISM • DEDICATION
Website: www.iafflocal935.org
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VIDEO VAULT | July 22, 2020 — Sutter Street, Hesperia
Our members responded to a residential fire that extended from an attached garage into the home and attic. Eighteen personnel brought the fire under control with no reported injuries. The response shows why dependable High Desert staffing and coverage matter.
Full video: youtu.be/6OYUbMa1CUg
SERVICE • PROFESSIONALISM • DEDICATION
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THE POWER OF SOLIDARITY | SOCIAL SECURITY FAIRNESS ACT
This week, IAFF General President Edward Kelly spoke about the successes our union has achieved by identifying issues affecting firefighters, developing solutions, and using our collective voice to move those solutions through Congress.
One of the most significant recent examples is the Social Security Fairness Act.
For more than 40 years, firefighters and other public employees were impacted by two provisions of federal law known as the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).
These provisions could significantly reduce Social Security benefits for public employees who earned a pension from employment not covered by Social Security, even when they had also worked other jobs and paid Social Security taxes. The GPO could also reduce Social Security spousal and survivor benefits.
For firefighters, this was particularly significant. Many firefighters work second jobs throughout their careers, paying Social Security taxes and earning benefits just like millions of other Americans. Yet when they retired, WEP could reduce the Social Security benefit they had earned.
The IAFF recognized this inequity decades ago and made eliminating WEP and GPO a long-term federal legislative priority.
What followed demonstrates why organized labor and political advocacy matter.
For years, IAFF leaders and members worked with lawmakers from both political parties, testified and advocated on Capitol Hill, built coalitions with other public employee organizations, and repeatedly asked Congress to correct the law.
The effort gained significant momentum with the Social Security Fairness Act, H.R. 82, legislation designed to completely repeal WEP and GPO.
Despite overwhelming bipartisan support, the legislation remained stalled in the House Ways and Means Committee.
Rather than allow the legislation to die in committee, the IAFF and its partners helped support an extraordinary effort to force it to the House floor through a discharge petition, a rarely successful congressional procedure that allows a majority of House members to bypass a committee.
The effort succeeded.
It was only the seventh successful discharge petition in 50 years.
The House ultimately passed the Social Security Fairness Act 327-75.
The fight then moved to the Senate.
IAFF members across the country mobilized. More than 30,000 emails were sent by IAFF members to members of Congress through the IAFF Advocacy Center urging passage.
The Senate responded by passing the legislation 76-20, sending it to the President.
On January 5, 2025, the Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law, finally eliminating WEP and GPO and restoring Social Security benefits to millions of retired firefighters, police officers, teachers, and other public servants.
The law applies to benefits payable beginning after December 2023.
This victory represents much more than one piece of legislation.
It demonstrates what organized labor can accomplish.
An issue affecting firefighters was identified. A legislative solution was developed. Relationships were built on both sides of the political aisle. Members were educated and mobilized. Thousands of firefighters made their voices heard. And after more than four decades of advocacy, Congress acted.
No individual firefighter could have accomplished this alone.
Together, we did.
That is the power of solidarity and the importance of having firefighters represented at every level of government.
Our collective voice gives us the ability not simply to react to decisions being made in Washington, but to help shape the laws that affect firefighters, our families, and our retirement.
The Social Security Fairness Act is proof of what can happen when firefighters stand together, remain engaged, and refuse to give up on an issue simply because the fight is difficult or takes years to win.
When firefighters speak with one voice, lawmakers listen.
SERVICE • PROFESSIONALISM • DEDICATION
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RECENT INCIDENT | AUGUST 4, 2026 | HIGHWAY 18 BELOW BIG BEAR DAM
Recently our members responded to a traffic collision involving a vehicle approximately 300 feet over the side of Highway 18 below Big Bear Dam.
Witnesses reported seeing a single occupant exit the vehicle and continue downslope. Firefighters initiated a coordinated search using ground and air resources in steep, difficult terrain. At the time of the Fire District's video update, the occupant had not yet been located.
This post documents yesterday's response and is not a current incident alert.
Responses like this require enough trained personnel, technical-rescue capability, specialized equipment, emergency medical resources and access to aviation support. Mountain communities and travel corridors depend on nearby staffing and maintained apparatus because steep terrain can quickly turn a traffic collision into a complex, extended rescue operation.
MOUNTAIN ROAD SAFETY: Slow down, wear your seat belt, avoid distractions and use extra caution on winding mountain roads. If a vehicle leaves the roadway, call 911 and do not enter steep terrain unless directed by rescuers.
SERVICE • PROFESSIONALISM • DEDICATION
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LOOKING BACK | May 18, 2026 | 16000 block of Cajon Blvd., Devore
Our members joined CAL FIRE and the U.S. Forest Service in unified command against a wind-driven vegetation fire near the base of the Cajon Pass. The fire began close to a home, damaged several storage buildings and sheds, and then moved into wildland fuels. The coordinated response prevented further spread into the nearby river bottom and held the incident to 5.5 acres. No civilian or firefighter injuries were reported.
The Cajon Pass combines heavy transportation corridors, homes, open vegetation, steep terrain and wind—conditions that can create multiple hazards at once. Mutual aid strengthens the response, while adequate local staffing and apparatus help place resources quickly and preserve coverage for the next emergency.
SAFETY MESSAGE: Maintain defensible space, remove combustible debris and avoid mowing, welding, dragging chains or parking hot vehicles in dry grass during elevated fire conditions.
SERVICE • PROFESSIONALISM • DEDICATION
Website: www.iafflocal935.org
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THE FIRE APPARATUS CRISIS, AND A PROACTIVE LOCAL RESPONSE
Fire engines and ladder trucks are mission critical public safety equipment. Yet communities across the country are facing a fire apparatus crisis driven by rising costs, lengthy delivery timelines, and an increasingly consolidated manufacturing market.
The IAFF reports that a fire engine that cost about $589,000 in 2020 now commonly exceeds $1 million. Ladder trucks can reach $2 million or more. Delivery timelines that once commonly ran about a year to 18 months now often take two to four years, with some orders quoted as long as four and a half years.
The IAFF has raised serious concerns about how this happened. Over roughly two decades, private equity driven roll ups and corporate consolidation reduced a market that once included many manufacturers to three major companies, REV Group, Oshkosh, the parent company of Pierce, and Rosenbauer. Together, they control more than 70 percent of United States fire apparatus production.
The IAFF contends that reduced competition, profit focused consolidation, and potential anticompetitive practices have contributed to higher prices, longer wait times, and increasing difficulty for local jurisdictions to replace aging apparatus. Those impacts reach far beyond a purchasing decision. Delayed replacements can force agencies to keep older rigs in service longer, rely on reserve apparatus, spend more on maintenance, postpone planned fleet improvements, and absorb costs that compete with other public safety needs.
The IAFF has taken this issue directly to federal lawmakers. In May 2025, the IAFF and the American Economic Liberties Project called for Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission review of the industry. In September 2025, IAFF General President Edward Kelly testified before the United States Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee during its hearing, Sounding the Alarm, America’s Fire Apparatus Crisis.
President Kelly called on Congress to investigate manufacturer consolidation and potential collusion, warning that communities cannot be denied essential emergency vehicles, parts, supplies, and services. In July 2026, bipartisan federal lawmakers introduced a resolution directing the FTC to investigate corporate roll ups and potential anticompetitive practices in fire truck manufacturing. The IAFF endorsed that effort.
San Bernardino County Fire has taken proactive steps to address the realities of this market while continuing to build operational depth. In 2025, the District ordered 10 KME K 180 pumpers following Board of Supervisors approval. The K 180 is a pre engineered, modular platform that reduces the engineering and manufacturing complexity of a fully custom apparatus, allowing delivery on an accelerated schedule.
This approach was selected because the K 180 platform remains very similar to San Bernardino County Fire’s custom KME fire engines. Maintaining that consistency supports the District’s broader effort to standardize apparatus across all divisions, streamline training, reduce operational differences between units, and limit complications created by operating multiple apparatus styles and configurations countywide.
According to KME, the units were expected to be delivered within approximately one year. The pumpers are intended for immediate frontline service and then will move into reserve roles as additional custom apparatus arrive. This approach gives the District flexibility to keep dependable apparatus available while managing the years long timelines attached to more customized builds.
The 10 K 180 pumpers are low hose bed, side mount pump panel engines with a 2,000 gallon per minute pump, 500 gallon water tank, 20 gallon foam tank, and a 500 horsepower Cummins engine. The purchase represents a practical local response to a national problem, preserving readiness while the fire service pushes for accountability and greater competition in the apparatus market.
Local planning and federal advocacy must work together. The goal is straightforward, keep safe, reliable apparatus on the road, protect firefighters, preserve public safety, and ensure local communities are not priced out of the equipment they depend on.
SERVICE • PROFESSIONALISM • DEDICATION
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FEDERAL RECOGNITION FOR FIREFIGHTER CANCER
Firefighters face repeated exposure to carcinogens throughout an entire career. Those exposures can accumulate over time, contributing to elevated cancer risk, shortened careers, health concerns after retirement, and devastating losses for families.
For years, firefighters and surviving families have fought for occupational cancer to be recognized as a line of duty injury. One of the stories that helped move this issue forward came from St. Paul Firefighters Local 21 Captain Mike Paidar and his wife, Julie.
Captain Paidar died in 2020 from acute myeloid leukemia after serving as a firefighter and paramedic. Minnesota recognized his death as the state’s first line of duty cancer fatality, establishing an important precedent for firefighter families facing similar circumstances.
Following her husband’s death, Julie Paidar worked with Local 21, the Minnesota Professional Fire Fighters, the IAFF, and survivor families across the country to bring their stories directly to federal lawmakers. Their advocacy helped demonstrate that cancer caused by occupational exposures must be treated with the same seriousness as any other line of duty injury.
That work helped lead to the bipartisan Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act, introduced in Captain Paidar’s honor by Senator Amy Klobuchar. In December 2025, the IAFF backed legislation was signed into federal law.
The Honor Act recognizes qualifying occupational cancers as line of duty deaths under the federal Public Safety Officers’ Benefits program. Eligible surviving families can now receive federal death and education benefits when a firefighter dies from a covered occupational cancer.
This federal recognition is a meaningful step for the fire service. It acknowledges the long term health consequences of the job, supports families after a loss, and affirms that the risks firefighters face do not end when an incident is over or when retirement begins.
SERVICE • PROFESSIONALISM • DEDICATION
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TURNOUT GEAR SAFETY: PFAS AND WHAT COMES NEXT
Our turnout gear is designed to protect us—but the fire service has learned that some of the chemicals used to make gear water- and oil-resistant may create another occupational exposure concern.
PFAS and polyfluoroalkyl substances are a large class of synthetic “forever chemicals.” They do not readily break down, can accumulate in the environment and the body, and certain PFAS have been linked to cancer and other serious health effects. Studies have identified PFAS throughout the layers of structural turnout gear, including moisture barriers and outer-shell treatments.
The IAFF has made this a member health and safety priority. Convention delegates directed the union to oppose PFAS in turnout gear, pursue independent testing, work with manufacturers toward safer alternatives, and seek federal research into the health effects of PFAS in PPE. The IAFF also committed additional cancer-research funding and retained nationally recognized law firms to challenge the systems that allowed toxic chemicals in protective equipment.
Federally, IAFF advocacy helped secure direction for NIST to study the amount of PFAS in turnout gear and the associated health risks. The IAFF continues to support the PFAS Alternatives Act, which would accelerate research and development of next-generation turnout gear that is PFAS-free, better fits the full range of firefighter body types, and provides clearer indications for cleaning and maintenance.
This work is about more than one chemical. The IAFF has called for complete disclosure and independent testing for PFAS, fluorinated treatments and coatings, and hazardous flame retardants, including halogenated flame retardants such as DBDPE. The NFPA 1970 Restricted Substances List is an important step, but firefighters and departments should not rely on marketing claims alone.
When new gear is introduced, it must be independently and scientifically verified, not simply labeled “PFAS-free.” Our members deserve protective equipment that reduces hazards, rather than introducing new ones.
SERVICE • PROFESSIONALISM • DEDICATION
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Sources: www.iaff.org/pfas/
www.iaff.org/pfas/pfas-faq/
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ORIGINAL INCIDENT: March 22, 2024 | 14100 block Main Street, Hesperia
Just after midnight, our members arrived to flames showing from the roof of a multi-business commercial strip. Interior crews encountered smoke banked to the floor while the fire burned inside concealed façade and attic spaces.
Firefighters deployed hose lines from aerial apparatus and used saws to open the roof while interior teams worked below. Sprinkler activation also helped contain the fire. Despite water damage, coordinated operations prevented flames from traveling laterally through the open attic and involving additional businesses.
The response required 33 personnel: seven engines, two truck companies, two battalion chiefs, an ambulance and two investigators, with Victorville Fire assisting through mutual aid. No injuries were reported.
Commercial occupancies require enough personnel for simultaneous interior attack, roof operations, water supply, exposure protection, EMS, command and investigation.
SAFETY MESSAGE: Businesses should maintain sprinkler systems, keep exits clear and practice employee evacuation procedures.
SERVICE • PROFESSIONALISM • DEDICATION
Website: www.iafflocal935.org
X: @SBCoFFLocal935 | Instagram/Facebook: @Local935
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