Meeting - 10 AM, Yucaipa Woman's Club, 35215 Avenue A

 YMRA holds its Open Monthly Meeting at 10:00 am on the second Saturday of each month at the Woman's Club at 35215 Avenue A, corner Adams Street. Our next meeting will be Saturday, May 13. Scheduled guest speakers are Yucaipa Fire Chief Grant Malinowski and Captain Burrascano. Malinowski will be speaking on fire safety and preparedness in mobilehome parks. Given the heavy rains this winter, a larger than normal vegetation growth is expected which can contribute to fire dangers. Burrascano is the person tasked with mobilehome park inspections and will tell us about this program. All residents of mobilehome parks and other interested persons are invited to attend.  

 Meeting May 13, with Yucaipa Fire Chief Malinowski With permission from Michelle Lopez, Staff Reporter, Yucaipa/Calimesa News Mirror  
  On May 13, Yucaipa Fire Chief Grant Malinowski and Capt. Tom Burrascano were guests for the month of May as special speakers. The topic was on fire safety and preparedness for the 42 mobilehome parks in Yucaipa with approximately 4,270 spaces to defend.  
  Chief Malinowski gave tips to help be fire safe and those included:  All mobilehome parks are subject to a yearly Title 25 fire inspection.  All parks have to have plot lines.  All parks have to have posted addresses on the mobilehome itself.  All park residents should have weed abatement done around their mobilehome.  Residents shouldn’t have flammable material under the mobilehome that could cause a fire.  Residents shouldn’t have junk around the perimeter that would cause a fire.  The common areas are the responsibility of the park owner (clubhouse, pool).   
  Malinowski said, “Mobilehomes are not built like a house. Houses have even dumbed down because of all the gules and all the products and they don’t sustain fire like they used to. On older homes, 60 or 70 years old or so, that home will be structurally sound in a fire for 20 to 30 minutes. Whereas the new homes being built right now are down to about the six minute mark. They burn a lot hotter with a lot more synthetic materials in them. They don’t have as much solid wood. Mobilehomes are made out of very lightweight construction materials. They don’t have the same firestops without the wood in them to prevent the fire spread and burn even faster."  
  The three major dangers with a mobilehomes and the park are: 1) The fire accelerates fast, 2) Fires lanes must remain clear at all times for the firetrucks to get to the fire to help firefighters do their job, 3) The neighbors are very close to each other.  
  Malinowski said there are three mobilehome parks in Yucaipa that were built in pre-1968, and do not have any fire protection systems. “They don’t have fire hydrants, fireboxes or anything because that was not required at the time they were built.” Those three parks are Avalon Mobile Estates, Aladdin Mobile Estates, and Bonanza Mobile Home Park. He stated that creates more planning on the fire dept. side because they will have to hook up a firehose outside the park. Avalon’s hookup is across the street from the park. They do have fire extinguishers.   
  Malinowski said the city also has a task force that inspects the parks to help lighten the load of the fire department that is inspecting 42 mobile home parks, 800 businesses and still provide paramedic and fire service. Code enforcement also has a part in these inspections.  
  Burrascano is the inspector for mobilehome parks for the city of Yucaipa. He said that all 42 parks will be looked at for fire protection each year. “As the chief said earlier, we have a multitask force in the city of Yucaipa that includes myself from the fire dept., the San Bernardino sheriff’s and Code Enforcement.”  
  “Each park needs a sign-off to get permission from the city to run its park. Violations can’t be ignored. They become compliant … I’m the one who signs that every year so that park could have the permit to operate …  We’re making sure your park is protected, the fire lanes are painted … The inspection for that task force is to make sure everyone is taking care of one another. We make sure your house is clear, your brush is clear, your trees are trimmed. That is all noted in the walk through,” said Burrascano.  
 Suggestions for information or help with issues: The Yucaipa city app where residents can reach out to code enforcement to report issues. The website to find out if your property is in a high-fire zone is fire.ca.gov and shows tips on how to make defensible space. The city of Yucaipa’s “Your Yucaipa Community Services Guide” on page 9 for summer of 2023 has tips for fire safety.