The tribe has used Rincon Sports Park as a landing zone (LZ) for years, however, as Duncan pointed out “Rincon Fire and Rincon Tribal Law must be dispatched to provide access and secure the LZ. In addition, the assisting agency acting as an agent of the county damaged Rincon property.” San Diego County Fire directed an assisting agency and a county ambulance to trespass on to sovereign tribal land. Please explain why San Diego County Fire dispatched a Pala unit to land a helicopter to transport a patient from a county ambulance on the Rincon Reservation This action was taken without notifying Rincon Fire and Rincon Tribal Law. E-151 captain reported that he did not have keys to unlock the gate and was forced to cut a link to gain access to the baseball field landing zone (LZ). I responded to the location to find E-151 on scene.

I received notification that Pala E-151 was landing an air ambulance at the Rincon Sports Park. he wrote to County Fire Chief Tony Mecham: “Today an incident occurred involving Cal-Fire E-3387, County Medic-256 and Pala E-151. Possibly a violation of federal law, if the tribe wants to press it.Ĭhip Duncan, the Rincon Fire Dept. In order to get the patient to a hospital, County Fire had to trespass on and break into a tribal facility by cutting the lock. (which is, in essence, Cal Fire) denied permission to Rincon fire to handle the medical call-which was severe enough to require an air ambulance. Where a Cal Fire engine had to break the gate’s lock to gain entry so the ambulance helicopter could land on a designated LZ. In a kind of a tragedy of errors, an air ambulance ending up landing on the Rincon reservation at the Rincon Sports Park. Instead, according to Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians Tribal Chairman Bo Mazzetti, lifesaving treatment was delayed because San Diego County Fire Protection District insisted that Pala tribal fire, which is 11 miles away, be called instead.

The Rincon tribal ambulance, just down the road, could have responded in two or three minutes. On the Sunday afternoon after Thanksgiving a bicyclist was severely injured at the roundabout a Hwy 76 & Valley Center Road. Over the weekend this new policy came close to having fatal results. To provide the same mutual aid tribal departments have given and received for decades. The County of San Diego’s fire department is trying to strong arm local Indian tribes to get them to sign away their sovereign immunity in return for “allowing” them to answer emergency calls in unincorporated San Diego. “They started with wanting a full waiver of sovereign immunity, which is not going to happen.”-Bo Mazzetti

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