Faced with continued financial shortfalls, the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District has announced that, beginning on July 1, firefighters won’t enter burning structures unless lives are at stake.
That’s one of the “new urgent measures” it’s taking to maintain its limited operations and keep firefighters safe, fire district Chief Brian Helmick said during a news conference Thursday.
“There are many realities and many forces that are driving the decision I am making,” Helmick said of the defensive strategy. “We really don’t have any choice, being underfunded and underresourced.”
In a news release earlier in the day, the chief said having only three fire stations instead of the six needed to cover 250 square miles is “pushing firefighters to their limits as they respond to twice as many calls for help.”
In addition, only three of the department’s five fire engines will be sent to a structure fire, Helmick said, acknowledging East Contra Costa Fire is the only agency in the county to impose such a limit.
“If there is not a life-safety issue — if there’s not somebody inside — you need to do the best you can to fight the fire from the exterior to the interior but you cannot be aggressive and overextend yourself,” he said.
“If we have a situation in which firefighters get trapped or we become hurt, we are our own 911 system,” Helmick explained. “Until we can address our resource issue, and give firefighters the resources they need to do their jobs, we need to take a safe, effective approach.”
Helmick also said automatic aid agreements with other Contra Contra Costa County fire departments have been unbalanced, with ECCFPD receiving more help than it renders. In the past, East Contra Costa Fire has leaned heavily on neighboring agencies, which themselves are strained more now. As a result, the department must look at new strategies, which include containing structure fires from the outside, the chief said.
“We have outside agreements with other agencies,” he said. “We have great regional partners. They have subsidized us for a long time and those agreements continue to be strained and that is our problem.”
In announcing the changes, Helmick acknowledged the defensive-first operation strategy raises the safety risk factors at a time when the 2020 fire season is getting underway.
Helmick also announced that all public outreach events and station visits will be eliminated indefinitely.
“These are not steps we want to take – and candidly, they may not be the last. We may have to consider other, even more drastic measures,” Helmick said. “The reality is, we have to live within our means and keep our firefighters safe.”
Helmick said the district’s six staffed fire stations were reduced to three in 2015 — not enough to protect a population of 128,000-plus people in Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Bethel Island, Knightsen, Byron, Marsh Creek and Morgan Territory.
East Contra Costa Fire District board President Brian Oftedal and firefighters union President Vincent Wells both said they supported the new measures.
“If we only risk lives if lives are in danger, then that is what we have to do and the fire board is backing that decision,” Oftedal said.
Once served by volunteers and composed of several city and town departments, the rural fire district was created in 2002 and had eight stations at its height.
The district’s financial woes date back decades when the area’s population was much smaller and volunteer firefighters provided service. In 1978, Proposition 13 cemented the property-tax allocation for the fire district at 8 percent — far less than the average 12 percent elsewhere, leaving the fire agency with less money than other area agencies.
Helmick explained that the district was first allocated revenue at a rate that made sense at the time, but is no longer adequate.
Over the years, the district has tried to remedy the shortfall with such measures a parcel tax, benefit assessment and utility-user tax, all of which failed at the ballot box.
While the fire board will address new growth needs with impact fees and community facility districts, current needs will likely be addressed with some sort of voter initiative, the chief has said.
In an effort to educate the public, in the past few months, the district has begun running short videos on its history, financial issues and possible solutions.
Over the years the district and Brentwood and Oakley have all placed initiatives on the ballot to fund reopening stations, but all parcel tax assessments and utility tax measures have failed.
“We will continue to explore all options as we move forward,” Helmick said. “No options are off the table.”
"enter" - Google News
June 12, 2020 at 11:29AM
https://ift.tt/3cRYGIR
East Contra Costa firefighters will no longer enter burning structures if lives are not at risk - East Bay Times
"enter" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2TwxTMf
https://ift.tt/3d6LMHD
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "East Contra Costa firefighters will no longer enter burning structures if lives are not at risk - East Bay Times"
Post a Comment