City of Gonzales
FIRE DEPARTMENT
ACTIVITY REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: August 21, 2023
FROM: Jason Muscio, Fire Chief
THROUGH: Carmen Gil, City Manager
SUBJECT: Fire Department Activity Report
Emergency Response
July was a challenging month for the Fire Department with several severe emergencies, staffing issues, and equipment breakdowns. There were 52 calls for service during the month bringing the year-to-date total to 425 calls, roughly the same number of calls for the same time period in 2022. The most critical incident of July was the structure fire on the evening of July 4th. This fire resulted in a loss of life and left a family homeless. The severity of the fire required 4 mutual aid engines and over 20 firefighters to extinguish. Because we had every full-time Firefighter (5) and two Volunteers working at the time of the fire, we were able to have both of our type one engines at scene quickly and prevent the fire from spreading to nearby homes. Had we not had extra staff on hand and responded with our standard twoperson engine company, the outcome would have more than likely been very different.
The Department faced a second fire fatality later in the month, this time from a vehicle fire that occurred within the City. Both incidents remain under investigation. On the positive side, due in part to good weather, the number of vegetation fires we responded to in July is down from July of 2022. The number of vehicle accidents and medical emergencies was about average for the month.
Department Operations
We had been operating with one Firefighter vacancy since early June, that vacancy has been filled with the hiring of Daniel Escobar. Daniel is a Salinas resident and has several years of experience as a parttime Firefighter with both the Soledad and Greenfield Fire Departments, as well as a seasonal Firefighter with CalFire. Daniel’s first day was July 31st and he is currently undergoing introductory training.
Engine 8112 has been out of service twice this month and remains out of service at the time of this report.
AGENDA
ITEM
12 We had had trouble operating the ladder rack but that was repaired by the City mechanic, we also had to get the front end aligned for safety reasons which required the engine be repaired at a local shop. Three days after the engine returned to service, it was once again taken out of service due to a failure of the fuel system that prevented the motor from running, as well as a coolant leak and problems with the cab lockdown brackets. Parts are currently on order, and we expect the engine to be repaired by the second week of August.
Prevention and Community Engagement
There were 14 business inspections conducted during the month and few issues were found, none of them serious. 12 residential rental units were inspected, and no serious violations were found. The majority of our residential rental inspections have yet to take place this year and are scheduled for August and September. Through it all, we did manage to find the time for some fun.
We participated in the July 4th festivities at Central Park where we first provided traffic control for the parade, and then had our “house fire” prop out for the kids to squirt water. On the 11th and 12th we spent a few hours at the Vosti Center with the Summer Camp kids. The first day was spent educating the kids on fire safety, how and when to call 911, smoke detectors, and having a home evacuation plan. The second day was pure fun with lots of water and firehoses, dummy drags, and an obstacle course.