By Caleb Lunetta
The San Diego Union-Tribune
SAN DIEGO 鈥� For most of her adult life, Erika Tello, a 21-year U.S. Navy veteran, has been a firefighter at bases around the world 鈥� including her last post as an emergency management supervisor in Bahrain 鈥� and worked on some of the most sophisticated battleships out there.
However, since retiring from the military in 2023, Tello, who has an associate degree in fire science and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in fire management, said she has faced a competitive job market as a civilian, even with decades of experience under her belt.
She is looking for any edge she can get.
| MORE: Do we really need degrees in EMS?
Last week, Tello became one of 43 students enrolled in Miramar College鈥檚 Bachelor of Science in Public Safety Management program, a new curriculum teaching students 鈥� many of whom are currently employed or have extensive backgrounds as first responders 鈥� niche or advanced skills that will give more more opportunities to climb the ranks in their careers as emergency situation managers.
The program鈥檚 inception comes at a time when the demand for first responders is especially high due to climate change, growing population density and recruiting issues for agencies throughout the country.
According to data provided by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, both the area burned by wildfires and the number of large fires have increased across the state in the last century. All but two of the 20 largest wildfires 鈥� identified as burning 10,000 acres or more between 1950 and 2023 鈥� occurred since 2000.
鈥淎nytime a candidate can go above and beyond, continuing their education or attracting other fire-related course certifications, the more competitive they鈥檒l be during the hiring process,鈥� Cal Fire Captain Robert Johnson said. 鈥淎nd although we鈥檙e generally always hiring, there are always more applicants than job openings.鈥�
Cal Fire officials said at a minimum, applicants for entry-level firefighter positions must be at least 18 years old and have a valid driver鈥檚 license. However, many prospects have attained a handful of other certifications before they鈥檝e even enrolled in the department鈥檚 academy, bolstering their resumes with basic firefighting and/or emergency medical technician courses, as well as other relevant job experience.
San Diego Fire- Rescue has similar requirements, but even with recruits entering the academy with supplemental training, city officials made the decision a few years back to extend the academy from 16 weeks to 18 weeks.
鈥淪an Diego Fire-Rescue Department is one of the busiest, if not the busiest, departments in the county, with 188,000 calls per year,鈥� said San Diego Fire-Rescue Chief Robert Logan. 鈥淪o, we do hire people that don鈥檛 already have (firefighting experience), but usually there have to be other things that carry a lot of weight.鈥�
San Diego Fire- Rescue saw its number of applications rise from 1,974 in 2021 to 2,282 last year. Those numbers are whittled down to two or three academy classes a year with 36 to 48 cadets per class. Cal Fire San Diego saw similar application numbers.
Fire officials said the departments will be required to not only continue to scale up their manpower relative to demand driven by climate change and increasing populations, but also ensure their firefighters have the wide range of skills necessary for modern first responders.
鈥淭he need for firefighters and fire stations continues to grow as we become more dense in our communities,鈥� Logan said. 鈥淎nd so one of the things we focus on as a department, and as a city, is to make sure that we鈥檙e paying our folks a fair and competitive wage, so that we can capture not only the skilled firefighters, but the skilled firefighter paramedics that are out there that we鈥檙e all looking for.鈥�
Law enforcement officials said they are having similar issues, especially at the upper management levels. Jared Wilson, president of the San Diego Police Officers Association, said of the 1,834 sworn positions in the department, about 100 are 鈥渕anagement鈥� positions, most of which are held by officers with four-year or graduate degrees.
And while sworn-officer recruits require only a high-school diploma and to be legally authorized to work in the U.S., Wilson said there鈥檚 constant pressure on officers to be on top of the latest technology and criminal justice laws.
San Diego police officers, much like other law enforcement departments in the county, are also expected to respond to everything from medical calls to homicides to natural disasters, Wilson said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got the camera on us, and the radios just got a little bit more complex 鈥� I sometimes have to be an IT person myself,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淭he amount of stuff that (officers) need to know is just getting greater and greater.鈥�
Teaching leaders
A number of local community colleges and universities have begun to offer a wider selection of degrees and certifications that are specifically targeted at current or prospective first responders.
Mesa College鈥檚 health information management program is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and San Diego City College鈥檚 cyber defense and analysis program, which launched in 2024, will graduate its first cohort of students in May.
And earlier this year, the county launched the San Diego Emergency Medical Services Corps, offering adults aged 18 to 26 with backgrounds in the juvenile justice or child welfare systems a chance at a five-month, hands-on training program that teaches around 40 participants how to become EMTs.
Miramar College鈥檚 newest program is joining the fray.
The community college already offered associate鈥檚 degrees in fire protection and emergency medical tech 鈥� with courses that cover the basics on everything from anatomy to disaster triage to fire suppression.
However, officials said the new bachelor鈥檚 degree program 鈥� a two-year program open to students who already have associate鈥檚 degrees in public safety 鈥� offers students a chance to dive deeper into all-hazard emergency management and administration.
The cohort consists of a mixture of students who recently graduated from one of the school鈥檚 associate programs, but also ones who are currently employed as lifeguards, firefighters, sheriff鈥檚 deputies or police officers in local communities.
Officials said some have coordinated with their agencies and are receiving stipends and tuition support, while others are funding their education through financial aid, veterans鈥� benefits or paying out of pocket. The cost for the 50-unit program is roughly $9,200, plus books.
High tech
The cohort began their program last week at SDG&E and spoke with a meteorologist about the impact of climate change, meteorology, disaster response and recovery, officials said.
Before that, at the college, a simulation led by Cal Fire Capt. Joe Ekbald involved him using an iPad to control a digital map projected onto a tabletop sandbox. The map showed a specific geographical region 鈥� including the area鈥檚 topography, neighborhoods, streets and even traffic patterns.
With the flick of the finger, Ekbald could illustrate for his students a digital emergency, such as fire burning through a rural area, simulating how fast a blaze would spread based on a particular weather pattern in a certain community. The program can also be used to simulate other disasters, like a dam burst in a mountainous area, predicting what valleys would be flooded, what roads would be congested and what homes would need to be evacuated.
Darren Hall , the fire technology director at the college, said the simulator was one of many tools the students will engage with during the program, while also learning from experts and taking a variety of courses, ranging from disaster policy to emergency preparedness to communication.
鈥淔EMA has identified the hazard risk to our community, and San Diego County is 16th in the nation,鈥� Hall said. 鈥淎nd this program was designed to let our students get out there after they finish their program and hit the ground running.鈥�
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