Firefighter News — May 2020

Russian River Fire Protection District / Sonoma County Fire District

Over the past year, the RRFPD has been actively exploring consolidation as a means for increasing the level of service to our residents without the need of a significantly increased fire tax. This initially began as a contract for service with the Sonoma County Fire District (SCFD) for administrative services. We quickly realized the benefits of this partnership and began the collaborative process of annexation to fully integrate RRFPD into the SCFD. As a result, at its May 6th meeting, the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) approved the annexation of the Russian River Fire Protection District into the new Sonoma County Fire District. The “Go Live” date is targeted at July 1, 2020 when the Guerneville fire station will officially become Sonoma County Fire District Station 9.

During this time, we have begun the process cross-training personnel to familiarize them with the new response areas and equipment, rebranding the apparatus, fire station, and uniforms to reflect the new agency. While there will be new faces moving through the station, we are all committed to providing the same exceptional service to the area as Sonoma County Firefighters.

Once the transition is complete, the Guerneville station will be fully staffed with an additional firefighter for a total of 5 personnel on duty each day including a paramedic on both the fire engine and ambulance to maintain paramedic service to the fire district if the ambulance is on an incident. Administrative services have slowly been transitioned to SCFD Headquarters in Windsor. To reach Fire Chief Mark Heine, or if you have any administrative or fire prevention questions, the office can be reached at (707) 838-1170.

The next regular meeting of the RRFPD Board of Directors will be on June 10th at 6pm at the Guerneville Fire Station. Future meetings of the SCFD Board of Directors meet on the third Tuesday of each month that rotates among the County Fire Stations. For the current board meeting schedule, please contact the Administrative Office.

For more information about Sonoma County Fire District, please visit our website atwww.sonomacountyfd.org .

Graton Fire

Pancake Breakfast… postponed

Typically, most of your fire departments would be thanking you for attending our annual pancake breakfasts. We are hopeful that we can reschedule our breakfast for this fall, but it’s too soon to tell. The blood drive did happen, and every appointment slot was booked – 40 donors! Thanks to those who could attend and pay it forward.

Career Firefighters

In May, the Graton Fire Board of Directors approved the final draft of the engineer job position. We are hiring three engineers, and the deadline is Friday, June 5th. The job description and application are available at www.gratonfire.com. They will start in July, which is the start of our fiscal year. These positions are the first tangible step following voter approval of our parcel tax to hire career staff. It is only possible because of your support – Thank you.

Bubble-Powered Fire Engine

Last month, we positioned bubble machines all over an engine and drove through the streets of Graton. Great fun for us, kids, adults, and our firefighters! Hope you had a chance to wave hi!

Forestville Fire Protection District

Due to the current circumstances our interactions with our community have all but ceased. We want to remind everyone that we are reachable on many platforms. You can (707) 887-2212 and you can follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/forestvillefire51 .

Bodega Volunteer Fire Department

All is quite in Bodega as the community shelters and place and maintains safe distances. We were forced to cancel our pancake breakfast and its looking like we may have to cancel or postpone our annual BIG EVENT BBQ. We will keep you updated on facebook and our website. In the meantime feel free to visit our website to purchase Bodega Fire Tshirts and Sweatshirts.www.bodegafire.org

If your sheltering in place and have time on your hands , now is the time to get your home defensible for wildfires. Take the time to clear brush around home, trim up tree’s and mow grass. Make sure not only is your home cleared but your driveway has adequate space for our large fire engines to access your property. Any questions about defensible space call your local fire department. Our number is 707-876-9438. Refer to the attached flyer detailing the ideal defensible space.