Message from the Chief
Wow! 2017 was a busy year for your Fire Protection District! We finished the calendar year with 1,836 emergency incident responses. That is a 7% increase in total call volume as compared to 2016. In addition to our “normal” day to day emergency responses, we also participated in an extensive amount of statewide mutual aid for major fires, including the Napa/Sonoma/Solano fire storm. We finished the year assisting with the major fires that impacted Southern California. It seems like the fire season will never end this year, and it may not be over yet as I write this.
We also completed 8,448 training hours in 2017, as one-third of our department were new firefighters actively participating in our rigorous firefighter/driver-operator qualification program. District personnel are ready and eager to face the many challenges ahead in 2018. Early in the year labor negotiations will commence as the current Memorandum of Agreement between the District and IAFF L1186 reaches the end of its term on June 30th.
We will be recruiting to fill career and volunteer firefighter openings. We will have a Fire Captain promotional assessment center in late summer/fall. The replacement rescue apparatus will be delivered this summer and staff will need to place the apparatus into service. This includes acceptance testing, equipment mounting and operator training.
Next year we will be implementing a business “fire safety self-inspection” program for low risk businesses in an effort to improve efficiency and accomplish additional fire prevention throughout the community. Staff will also be continuing to make progress on other District Strategic Plan initiatives which include training, disaster preparedness, and organizational efficiency goals and objectives.
We will be publishing our 2017 annual report which will detail all of the districts activities for the past calendar year in the near future. On behalf of all of the members of the District I would like to wish you all a safe and happy 2018!