February 19, 2022
Fire Chie� Bill Braga
Sebastopol Fire Department
7 425 Bodega Avenue
Sebastopol, CA 95472
Honesty ♦ Respect ♦ Integrity
Re: Consolidation Opportunities Proposal
Dear Chief Braga,
I'm pleased to provide you with this preliminary identification of opportunities and scope of services in consolidation between the City of Sebastopol Fire Department and the Sonoma County Fire District (SCFD). This is not a formal proposal as that will require more in-depth collaborative analysis.
The Sonoma County Fire District was formed in 2019 from the consolidation of the Windsor Fire Protection District, Rincon Valley Fire Protection District, Bennett Valley Fire District, and the Mountain Volunteer Fire Company. Since our formation in 2019, we have added the Russian River Fire District and the Forestville Fire District to the SCFD family. In July 2022, the Bodega Bay Fire Protection District will join the SCFD family. SCFD is also in conversation with the Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District regarding consolidation opportunities.
Our commitment and support of consolidation is derived from our unwavering commitment to the provision of professional services to the communities that we serve.
Today, the Sonoma County Fire District serves an fire response area of more than 230 square miles and an ambulance service area of more than 430 square miles. We are proud to provide the highest level of emergency services, prevention services, community education services, and Advanced Life Support emergency medical services.
I look forward to pursuing the opportunities for our departments that consolidation will afford. 8200 Old Redwood Highway, Windsor, CA 95492 Ph: 707-838-1170 www.sonomacountyfd.org
1 Consolidation Opportunity
Prepared for:
City of Sebastopol Fire Department
Prepared by:
Fire Chief Mark Heine
February 18, 2022
2 Table of Contents
Executive Summary..................................................................................................................... 3 Staffing Proposal
Cost Analysis
Vision/Mission/Guiding Principles.............................................................................................. 4 Description of SCFD Services....................................................................................................... 5 Fire Chief
Operations Division
Fire Prevention/Community Outreach Division
Administration Division
Finance Division
5 Year Financial Projection…………………………………………………………………………………………………….8 SCFD Service Territory Map…………………………………………………………………………………………………..9 3 Executive Summary
There are significant opportunities to enhance the services provided to Sebastopol citizens through a consolidation of fire and emergency medical services with the SCFD. SCFD is an allrisk fire and EMS agency providing robust services including:
• Fire suppression response
• Basic and advanced life support EMS response with ALS engine companies and ALS transport ambulances
• Comprehensive employee training, safety, and education programs • Executive leadership including a Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chief/Operations, Deputy Fire Chief/Administration, and EMS Division Chief
• Administration including an Executive Assistant/Office Manager and two Administrative Assistants
• Finance Division including a Finance Director and Accounting Specialist • Department Operations Center (DOC) and full Emergency Operations Center (EOC) • Special operations: swift water rescue, rope rescue, auto extrication, haz-mat • Full-time courier
• Superb labor/management relationship with IAFF L1401, Sonoma County Professional Firefighters
• Staffing consisting of 87 career personnel, 35 volunteer firefighters, 12 Apprentice Firefighters, and an Explorer Post. Daily fire station staffing of 24. • SCFD is a competitive bidder on the County of Sonoma Emergency Ambulance RFP to provide ALS emergency ambulance services to EOA1 (includes City of Sebastopol) Staffing proposal
• Staff one fire station with one ALS engine company
• Staffing to consist of 1 Captain, 1 Engineer, 1 Firefighter/Paramedic • Consolidate existing Volunteer fire personnel into the SCFD Volunteer firefighter program and maintain full operational engagement
• Provide full District services as describe later in this letter Preliminary Cost Analysis
The anticipated cost to provide this service is between $2-2.5 million per year and would need to address an inflationary factor for rising labor and goods costs. Preliminary analysis of overlaying the current SCFD parcel tax would generate approximately $1million/year. The combination of the parcel tax overlay and the existing Sebastopol Fire Department budget may provide the necessary funding.1 The current Sebastopol fire station would require extensive improvement to accommodate a full-time 3-person engine company. 1 A detailed financial analysis is required for accurate cost detail. 4 Vision/Mission/Guiding Principles
Our Vision
We will position the Fire District to provide fiscal sustainability while providing excellence in emergency response and community preparedness.
Our Mission
To compassionately care for the safety of our communities and our visitors through progressive professional emergency preparedness and response.
Our Guiding Principles
➢ We believe in providing the highest level of professionalism to our communities; therefore, we will remain committed to honesty and integrity. ➢ We believe in a positive and professional work environment; therefore, we will treat everyone with respect and honesty.
➢ We believe in the importance of flexibility and adaptability; therefore, we will welcome growth and change.
➢ We believe that honesty is essential; therefore, we will be transparent in every aspect of service.
➢ We believe being compassionate is essential; therefore, we will treat everyone with kindness.
5 Description of SCFD Services
Fire Chief
Fire Chief Mark Heine is a 40-year fire service member having served 8 years as a Fire Chief • Bachelor’s Degree in Emergency Services Management
• Graduate of the National Fire Academy 4-year Executive Fire Officer Program • Accredited Chief Fire Officer
• President of Sonoma County Fire Chiefs Association
• California Fire Chiefs Association Executive Board Member Operations
The Operations Division is led by Deputy Fire Chief Ron Busch.
The Division includes 1 Division Chief/EMS, 1 Division Chief/Training & Safety, 1 Division Chief/Administration, 3 Shift Battalion Chiefs, 1 Volunteer Battalion Chief. A comprehensive Standard of Cover analysis is in place analyzing response time data, station location, and growth trends.
• 12 fire stations (including Bodega Bay 7/1)
o 8 staffed stations
o 2 volunteer stations
o Aviation Division
▪ Helicopter “Sonoma AIR1” located at Sonoma County Airport with EMS, aerial firefighting, and aerial recon services2
• Fleet
o 10 engines (Type 1, 3, 6)
o 2 ALS transport ambulances
o 2 river rescue boats
o 1 ocean rescue boat
o Jet skiis
o Helicopter Sonoma AIR1 (public safety helicopter program with REACH) o Incident support vehicle (SCBA support)
• Training/Safety
o Training Division leading employee training and safety programs o NFPA compliance training
o Administrative employee training
2 The SCFD and REACH have developed a public safety helicopter program. A new helicopter will be implemented in 2022 that will provide EMS, aerial firefighting, and aerial recon services under direction of SCFD. 6 o Health and Wellness programs including peer support team members, CISD and EAP services, comprehensive behavioral health programs, and employee NFPA medical exams
o OSHA site safety compliance programs
o Training allowances for conference and off-site training attendance • EMS
o Comprehensive BLS and ALS programs
o ALS engine companies
o ALS transport
o Medical Director
o Robust Continuous Quality Insurance (CQI) program
o EMS education and continuing education programs
o EMS scene response and critical care transport with Sonoma AIR1 Fire Prevention/Community Outreach
The Fire Prevention/Community Outreach Division is led by Division Chief Cyndi Foreman and reports to Deputy Fire Chief Robert Johnson.
The Division includes 1 Fire Captain/Deputy Fire Marshal, 1 full-time Fire Inspector/Investigator, 1 Community Outreach Specialist, and utilizes several contract Fire Inspectors.
Fire inspection and code enforcement services adhere to a District philosophy of enforcement by education. Citation and enforcement are considered last-resort options. • Inspections/Code Enforcement
o Deputy Fire Marshall and Fire Inspectors inspect businesses and State Fire Marshal regulated facilities
• Education/Community Outreach
o A full-time Community Outreach Specialist interacts as the District liaison to community and civic groups, schools, and local governments served by the District.
• CERT/COPE Support
o The Division support existing CERT and COPE groups as well as supporting establishing new COPE groups
o Special attention is provided to our special needs community and bilingual services
• Fire Investigation
o The Division maintains an investigator on-call 24/7 for fire investigation and works closely with CalFire Law Enforcement Division
7 Administration
The Administration Division is led by Deputy Fire Chief Robert Johnson.
The Division consists of 1 Division Chief/Administration, 1 Division Chief/Fire Marshal, 1 Executive Assistant/Office Manager and 2 Administrative Assistants. A five year strategic plan provides strategic goals and objectives to guide the Division. • General administrative services
• Human Resource/Employee support services
• Support for Division Chiefs
• Facility management and planning3
Finance Division
The Finance Division is led by Finance Director Terri Bolduc.
The Division includes 1 Administrative Assistant/Accounting Assistant. • Budget development and management
• Fiscal short-term and long-term planning
• Grant team management
• State and Federal reimbursement programs
• EMS ambulance billing services
• Contract management
o RFP development
o Bid process management
o Ongoing contract management
• Audit and finance policy compliance management
3 SCFD will be replacing two fire stations in 2022 in compliance with the District’s Facility Capital Plan. 8 5 Year Financial Projection
9 SCFD Service Territory