The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) is a comprehensive, all-hazards emergency services agency serving the City of San Diego, California. Established on August 5, 1889, SDFD has evolved into one of the largest municipal fire departments in the state, providing fire protection, emergency medical services, technical rescue, and lifeguard services across 343 square miles, including 17 miles of coastline .
This department has become flooded with DEI hires and a fire chief that deserves a vote of no confidence.
Rumor going around right now is you had to live in some poor neighborhoods in San Diego to get an interview for our upcoming fire academies and those people got preference over those that live in upscale neighborhoods.
Instead of sticking up for the people that work their ass off and asking to keep funding for much needed positions, the fire chief rolled over like a dog to get his belly rubbed while telling city council we will make due because we always do that. What a clown.
We have no OT and get paid the worst out of any department.
We have no station supplies and have been forced to buy station supplies like toilet paper and printer ink using our own money.
The cost of living has increased by so much that over half of our department that own homes don’t live anywhere near the city.
The homeless continue to receive millions of dollars a year. Meanwhile, the people that respond multiple times a day to the same people (police and fire) are getting their budgets slashed by millions.
Keep up the great work San Diego.
Joke of a city and department.
The only thing keeping us coming to work is the rank and file personnel because we have some of the best people we work alongside.
Moral is steadily declining and we need a positive change fast.
I love many of the people in this department, and there are some incredibly hard-working people in operations that are skilled professional firefighters. The department is aggressive and trains their personnel to a high standard. However, based on recent negotiations and continuously low wages with seemingly no plans by the city to improve the department. I am planning on leaving to work somewhere that I am more valued at Morale has been progressively going down, not due to the people in operations, but due to the higher-ups and City management. It doesn’t make sense to do the same job in one city and not be valued when similar departments in our same state are making significantly more and are more valued.
The wages are low, facilities are breaking down, and it doesn’t seem as though there will be any changes in the near future.
I don’t want to leave because I love many other people I work with, but it is unsustainable and I need to do what is best for my family. With the low wages, you are unable to buy a house and raise a family comfortably anywhere near the city. With the cost of living in San Diego there’s just no way I can raise my family here on this income.
I’ve stuck it out for too long, hoping that things would improve, and we would have a pay that is at least somewhat competitive compared to Orange County or Los Angeles, but I can’t wait any longer and have to provide for my family.
True talk here. Lots of complaining and bitching. By mostly bitches. The problem begins with the mayor – but…. The chief is a good dude. Shouldn’t be an 01. Can’t and probably shouldn’t speak to the public or his own members. Drags along his woobie – a mouthy captain that follows him around barking nonsense and nobody listens. His deputy’s are smart but they won’t stick their neck out for you. The shift commanders? Good but they all hate their job and can’t wait to leave. They are the ones that can drive policy but they are just tired of all the stupid **** they just want to go home and bury their head or get a drink. The job has changed with lots of young guys who wish the dept was something that it isn’t. San Diego has no money. If this city was your spouse, you’d kick em out of your home and try to recover your own credit…. Fire stations continue to buy their own supplies. Want to fix something at station? Crews buy their own tools and look the other way. Look the mere fact you have a lifeguard apparatus up on a page for SDFD says it all..
Lots of opportunities, lots of great members, the culture is awesome. Great apparatus, good equipment. Lots of upper management and no workers…. The training division is run by 4 guys.. the academy about the same. The academy is a joke now. City personnel gets in the way. The dept is still stuck in old ways because any single policy change here takes a long time to do. The unions, city attorneys and staff all get in the way of making good meaningful change that will benefit the citizens of sd and the fire dept. If the city of San Diego ran the military, osama bin Ladin would be alive and in charge.
Morale is destroyed with constant mandatory’s and bs discipline. It’s not actually the mandatory itself – it’s the constant paperwork they want u to do to justify your regular scheduled day off. Weekly. Their only response? Childcare, family, **** it’s your day off… write a letter and we will deny your excuse unless you payed for a plane ticket. If u took off for a cold, send in a letter from, your doctor. Fuck u man. I’m not seeing a doctor if I’m sick.. I just don’t wanna spread that **** around . PSU are tools all the way to the top.
We promote people who are good at taking tests but operationally ****ty. We promote people to develop policy that can’t even spell their own name. We make supervisors from people who are terrible with people. The increased cost of living is forcing people to promote that shouldn’t or to go into fire prevention so they get paid more, don’t get hassled by psu for mandatories and nightstalk for endless OT. There is entitlement by all sorts of protected classes – People who have no business being a firefighter.
The potential exists to make it a world class dept… the people are there but the odds are severely stacked on the other side because of bad leadership, bad hiring, being financial strapped to the city who keeps track of its finances on a post it notepad. City politicians will tell u they want your help but none of them ever help. SDFD should find a way to separate from the city itself.
Rating Breakdown
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2/5
4 Reviews on “San Diego Fire Department”
Don’t came work here unless you wanna have a second job to afford to live on the outskirts of San Diego county. You can’t afford live in the city.
Terrible leadership. They expect you to give your life away without give you the means to support your family.
Mostly no one has the knowledge or the fitness to perform the job. DEI department, no standards or accountability
This department has become flooded with DEI hires and a fire chief that deserves a vote of no confidence.
Rumor going around right now is you had to live in some poor neighborhoods in San Diego to get an interview for our upcoming fire academies and those people got preference over those that live in upscale neighborhoods.
Instead of sticking up for the people that work their ass off and asking to keep funding for much needed positions, the fire chief rolled over like a dog to get his belly rubbed while telling city council we will make due because we always do that. What a clown.
We have no OT and get paid the worst out of any department.
We have no station supplies and have been forced to buy station supplies like toilet paper and printer ink using our own money.
The cost of living has increased by so much that over half of our department that own homes don’t live anywhere near the city.
The homeless continue to receive millions of dollars a year. Meanwhile, the people that respond multiple times a day to the same people (police and fire) are getting their budgets slashed by millions.
Keep up the great work San Diego.
Joke of a city and department.
The only thing keeping us coming to work is the rank and file personnel because we have some of the best people we work alongside.
Moral is steadily declining and we need a positive change fast.
I love many of the people in this department, and there are some incredibly hard-working people in operations that are skilled professional firefighters. The department is aggressive and trains their personnel to a high standard. However, based on recent negotiations and continuously low wages with seemingly no plans by the city to improve the department. I am planning on leaving to work somewhere that I am more valued at Morale has been progressively going down, not due to the people in operations, but due to the higher-ups and City management. It doesn’t make sense to do the same job in one city and not be valued when similar departments in our same state are making significantly more and are more valued.
The wages are low, facilities are breaking down, and it doesn’t seem as though there will be any changes in the near future.
I don’t want to leave because I love many other people I work with, but it is unsustainable and I need to do what is best for my family. With the low wages, you are unable to buy a house and raise a family comfortably anywhere near the city. With the cost of living in San Diego there’s just no way I can raise my family here on this income.
I’ve stuck it out for too long, hoping that things would improve, and we would have a pay that is at least somewhat competitive compared to Orange County or Los Angeles, but I can’t wait any longer and have to provide for my family.
True talk here. Lots of complaining and bitching. By mostly bitches. The problem begins with the mayor – but…. The chief is a good dude. Shouldn’t be an 01. Can’t and probably shouldn’t speak to the public or his own members. Drags along his woobie – a mouthy captain that follows him around barking nonsense and nobody listens. His deputy’s are smart but they won’t stick their neck out for you. The shift commanders? Good but they all hate their job and can’t wait to leave. They are the ones that can drive policy but they are just tired of all the stupid **** they just want to go home and bury their head or get a drink. The job has changed with lots of young guys who wish the dept was something that it isn’t. San Diego has no money. If this city was your spouse, you’d kick em out of your home and try to recover your own credit…. Fire stations continue to buy their own supplies. Want to fix something at station? Crews buy their own tools and look the other way. Look the mere fact you have a lifeguard apparatus up on a page for SDFD says it all..
Lots of opportunities, lots of great members, the culture is awesome. Great apparatus, good equipment. Lots of upper management and no workers…. The training division is run by 4 guys.. the academy about the same. The academy is a joke now. City personnel gets in the way. The dept is still stuck in old ways because any single policy change here takes a long time to do. The unions, city attorneys and staff all get in the way of making good meaningful change that will benefit the citizens of sd and the fire dept. If the city of San Diego ran the military, osama bin Ladin would be alive and in charge.
Morale is destroyed with constant mandatory’s and bs discipline. It’s not actually the mandatory itself – it’s the constant paperwork they want u to do to justify your regular scheduled day off. Weekly. Their only response? Childcare, family, **** it’s your day off… write a letter and we will deny your excuse unless you payed for a plane ticket. If u took off for a cold, send in a letter from, your doctor. Fuck u man. I’m not seeing a doctor if I’m sick.. I just don’t wanna spread that **** around . PSU are tools all the way to the top.
We promote people who are good at taking tests but operationally ****ty. We promote people to develop policy that can’t even spell their own name. We make supervisors from people who are terrible with people. The increased cost of living is forcing people to promote that shouldn’t or to go into fire prevention so they get paid more, don’t get hassled by psu for mandatories and nightstalk for endless OT. There is entitlement by all sorts of protected classes – People who have no business being a firefighter.
The potential exists to make it a world class dept… the people are there but the odds are severely stacked on the other side because of bad leadership, bad hiring, being financial strapped to the city who keeps track of its finances on a post it notepad. City politicians will tell u they want your help but none of them ever help. SDFD should find a way to separate from the city itself.