CHICO, Calif. — PG&E has established SIPT, A Safety and Infrastructure Protection Team across their service regions.
The purpose of the group is to protect the company’s assets and to address any hazardous concerns.
All members who are a part of this mission are retired firefighters or graduates of an academy, both requiring experience prior to signing on with PG&E.
A leadership representative from the company’s emergency management department said that there is a strong stance on preventing wildfires and protecting assets ahead of time, to help lessen the damage in case there is a fire.
Over 45,000 poles were sprayed down with the same fire retardant used by air tankers, which ultimately resulted in a 90% success rate of saving them from burning.
SIPT has even managed to help firefighters on their missions as they’ve been called upon for additional help. The team gets refreshers and continuous training yearly to make sure they stay on top of their role.
PG&E is expected to expand in the next 3 years from 45 teams to 60 teams; The areas in which they are based range from Redding to Bakersfield.