Monopole Issue Could Block Operations at
New Malibu County Line Fire Station
• Line of Sight Needed to Improve
Communications on Ventura County Wildfires Headed South toward
Rest of the 90265 Area
The sliver of Ventura County that has a
90265 zip code is Malibu by mailing address only, with
little to no official interaction with the rest of
the other addressees. But when an out-of-control wildfire
rages through this chaparral area, it has little respect
for arbitrary political boundary lines.
Thus the opening of the new, larger Ventura
County Fire Station 56 is good news to many Los Angeles
County Malibuites who have watched wildfires head south
and southwest from Ventura County to threaten homes in
western Malibu as far as Encinal and Decker canyons.
In 1993, wildfire roared through that area,
taking out landmark homes, such as that of Tony Duquette, and
Dwight Yoakum’s ranch house. Ventura County
firefighters were on the front lines, assisting their Los
Angeles counterparts.
However, the new station may not be
able to begin operations until a view issue with some
of its neighbors is resolved. They oppose plans to install
a 50-foot monopole radio tower with a 20-foot whip antenna atop
the station, even though the upgrade in communications is
deemed a necessity by the Ventura County Fire
Department.
During a county planning commission
meeting last month, neighbors delayed a permit for the
tower. The Fire Department then lowered the proposed tower
height by 20 feet, but contends it cannot change the design.
The fire department has had plans to
install the monopole setup at the new station for several years
to improve coverage of the coast where radio signals readily
drop out and to boost the relay from key equipment at Point
Mugu.
Abbe Berns, the assistant director of fire
services for the VCFD told the Malibu Surfside News this week
that the matter is now set for resolution before the director
of the VC planning department on May 15.
She said both sides are hiring experts for
the fray. The fire department has brought a
specialist from Motorola on board.
Berns said the department cannot run
conduit underground and obtain the necessary signal
strength. It needs a line-of-sight signal from Point Mugu.
She said, “Our biggest concern is
that each proposal to change [the design] adds an
additional point of failure [and] in addition to
transmission issues, there are security issues.”
Berns added that the proposed
design is the best for the site and maximizes ability to
alert, talk in and talk out and provides radio redundancy,
which can be critical in an emergency, while being
protective of the public safety channels.
The VCFD spokesperson said the next three
months will allow for study of every option, but the
“bottom line for the department has to be
reliability.”
She said county personnel and
equipment can’t be utilized to save lives and homes if
there isn’t a way to get crisis information from one
point to another.
