Fire meetings seek public input

Schell-Vista Fire Protection District board chairman Ernie Loveless wants to see some of Sonoma’s 40 Fire Protection Districts consolidated for greater efficiency.

“We’d like to clean up some of these boundaries and expand our areas of service for the residents who live in the county,” said Loveless.

This coming Tuesday, Oct. 21, the first in a series of 10 countywide meetings devoted to fire protection services will be held in the Schell-Vista Fire Station on Broadway. The County Board of Supervisors is opening up the meetings for public discussion to register concerns and gather public input for the future of Sonoma’s fire protection.

“The goal of the project is to develop recommendations for the Board of Supervisors,” said Schell-Vista Fire Chief Ray Mulas in a recent news release. “There are concerns about financial stresses that many of the (fire protection) agencies face.”

Under California state law, every five years counties must conduct comprehensive, regional studies of municipal services – Municipal Service Reviews – in conjunction with reviews of local city and special district spheres of influence. This includes fire protection districts. According to the 2005 Sonoma MRS, fire protection service providers in Sonoma County can be divided into three major categories: city fire departments, independent fire protection districts, and the County Department of Emergency Services.

“The rural fire protection agencies have historically depended upon volunteer fire fighters. The use of community-based fire fighters has been a benefit … providing a cost-effective way of providing fire protection and also …a focus of community activity and identity,” states the report. “However, ongoing changes in the rural portions of the County, including the loss of resource-based jobs, high housing prices and a general aging of the population, have reduced the ranks of potential volunteers. The fact that volunteers increasingly work outside of their communities has also reduced the resources available to the volunteer fire departments. Given that the cost of supporting a volunteer force is based upon the number of volunteers enlisted, it is getting to the point where a full-time paid staff may become necessary to maintain service levels.”

First District Supervisor Susan Gorin, who represents Sonoma Valley on the Board of Supervisors, acknowledged that there are discrepancies between some fire districts and others in terms of funding.

“Some of our fire companies are in very good shape – very healthy and efficient. But there are others that are struggling. They have deteriorating stations and a shortage of volunteers.”

Gorin said that any and all suggestions should be “on the table” and she was open to solutions that “looked for common needs” within the county.

“We have a lot of challenges, but we also have some great volunteer fire departments and our fire chiefs all work well together,” said Gorin.

Loveless said it would be a priority for his district to try and annex areas of the county that his department covers, but are not considered part of the Schell-Vista Fire Protection District. This would include expanding their spheres of influence to Highway 37 and Sears Point, as well as a large part of the unincorporated areas north of Sonoma. He added that residents under the county emergency protection areas have requested to be part of the Schell-Vista District.

“It can be ridiculous at times,” said Loveless. “There are 40 individual fire districts in the county, including 15 volunteer districts. The county pays us a stipend to go into some of these areas we don’t service, but they will only reimburse us for one engine. If we need more then that to do our job, we have to pay for that out of our own budget.”

The first meeting takes place at 22950 Broadway in the Schell-Vista Station. The meetings will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and all members of the public are welcome. For more information, contact the fire district’s website at schellvistafire.com.