Julian Cuyamaca Fire Protection District is the last volunteer fire department in San Diego County.

As the only volunteer fire department left in the county weighs disbanding and turning over its duties to the San Diego County Fire Authority, auditors have recently discovered that the firefighting assets of volunteer operations previously merged into the authority have gone unaccounted for. “A fixed asset inventory was not performed when the volunteer fire departments consolidated with the Fire Authority,” according to a February report by county chief of audits Juan R. Perez. “Lack of accountability over fixed assets assigned to the fire stations increases the risk of theft, loss, and/or misappropriation of these assets.”

A lot of property that could be found wasn’t properly marked to guard against theft. “16 (67%) of the Fire Authority’s fixed assets did not have County of San Diego fixed asset decals attached,” auditors found. In addition, donated equipment, including fire trucks and a water tender, had not been put on county ownership lists. “Donated fixed assets not recorded,” the audit notes, “can increase the risk of theft, loss, and/or misappropriation of the assets. Further, it increases the risk that proceeds from the sale of donated assets not recorded as County property, are not properly recorded.”

An ongoing effort by county fire officials to seize control of the Julian Cuyamaca Fire Protection District, the last of its kind in the county, has faced resistance from residents fearing loss of control and equipment. “Not only are we a half hour or more away from any kind of support up here, when you have a massive catastrophe such as the Cedar Fire, there are lots of demands on the system for help, and often times we feel forgotten,” retired volunteer firefighter Bill Everett told Fox5 News in February. In a February 16 letter to chief auditor Perez, fire authority program manager Herman Reddick vowed by October 31 to “conduct a physical inventory of the Fire Authority’s fixed assets,” and “assign a fixed asset custodian for the fire stations.” He also agreed to “ensure all fixed assets have a fixed asset tag attached in a location easily visible to facilitate performance of physical inventories,” and to “identify fixed assets that have been donated to the Fire Authority.”