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was happening in the moment to respond to the rare fire or major medical emergency.
In modern day Sonoma County, those same firefighters are working across the county or beyond, sometimes at two jobs to make ends meet. The ability for volunteers to live in the districts they serve has become a struggle, with housing costs soaring and the stock of affordable housing at crisis levels.
Wildfire:
The threat of wildfire has changed the game and mentality of fire
service delivery. Some grant funding has enabled sporadic advancement in community education and action. For example, Gold Ridge Fire performed 200 property inspections with a grant they received from the County of Sonoma to promote landscape fire-readiness and safety; Occidental Fire also inspected 200 properties this year, funded by grants. But these one-time monies don’t enable sustained efforts.
Local fire departments are pushingthe message, “Help us help you,” says Shepley Schroth-Cary, Gold Ridge Fire Chief. “There are a number of ways residents can work to create not only defensible space, but to prepare themselves, their families and their pets for evacuation.”
“It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when,” says Bill Bullard, Graton’s Volunteer Fire Chief.
When looking at fire-prone areas like Occidental and parts of Gold Ridge and Graton that have been fire-suppressed for 60 or more years, it’s just a matter of time and circimstamces. Community education and outreach are strong components of all three proposed ballot measures this November.
Communities can improve their chances of survival if they
have the right resources available. While we cannot fully prevent a wildfire, we can mitigate the risk and damage if an event was to occur by having more strategically placed resources and preparedness.
“Staffed fire stations mean faster response times and faster on scene times that could make the difference in saving a life and/or keeping a fire small.” according to Occidental Volunteer Fire
Chief Ron Lunardi,
The West County.fire departments have all practiced conservative budgeting
by stretching dollars from pancake breakfasts, bake sales, community BBQs, and raffles in order to buy new gear and equipment to keep volunteers safe in the field and around the stations.
The reality is that there are so many calls coming from the aging population, influx of tourists, and generally expanded population that the old way simply isn’t cutting it, and frankly we are one call away from a volunteer not able to show up. And if that small brush fire isn’t acted on quickly, a large wildfire could very well be the result.
Volunteers:
Measures C, E, and F are about supporting volunteers with staff that can respond to calls during the day, and for calls that don’t require more than one truck to respond, as less than 10% of calls for Graton Fire require a multi engine response.
Minor medical calls like a lift-assist or a medical aide only demand a single engine in response, one that isn’t necessary to pull a volunteer away in the middle of the workday to handle. The culture and staffing mindset is that the career firefighters are there to support the dedicated volunteers.
Each of these fire departments has unique circumstances,
but share common challenges.
• Ever-increasing call volume
• Decreasing number of local volunteers
• No guarantee that volunteers will be available at all
• times, especially during the daytime
• Response times are too high, it currently takes 4-5
• minutes for volunteers to reach the station and then respond
• Preparedness for wildfires and other disasters
Generally, most districts in Sonoma County are supported by parcel taxes
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between $200-$300/residential parcel. If Measures C, E, and F were to pass
in November, their districts would each be collecting roughly the same
tax rate when considering the small existing taxes Gold Ridge ($65) and Occidental ($80) are collecting; further enabling conversations about increased partnerships amongst equally healthy districts.