Fire district report suggests that fewer might be better

By Dana M. Nichols

Record Staff Writer April 23, 2013

SAN ANDREAS – Calaveras County’s 10 fire districts should consider consolidating into as few as four optimal districts, according to a new report written for the county Local Agency Formation Commission.

The report found that many county fire districts operate on shoestring budgets and don’t have the necessary funds to replace aging equipment or make needed repairs to fire stations.

Those districts are still able to respond to about 5,600 calls a year, however, thanks to a large cadre of volunteers who do everything from putting out fires and pulling people out of wrecked cars to repairing fire engines.

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More online

View the Calaveras Fire Municipal Service Review draft report at http://www.recordnet.com/calfire

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The Jenny Lind and Foothill Fire agencies in the Valley Springs area are already moving toward consolidation. The two operate now under a single administration referred to as Calaveras Consolidated.

As a result, two chiefs are now the paid staff in a fire protection region that formerly had five.

John Benoit, the executive officer for the county Local Agency Formation Commission, said that move saves money that can then be spent elsewhere.

“It will be a lot less expensive to administer, for one thing. And everybody seems to be getting along,” Benoit said.

That getting along is one of the bright spots in the report issued earlier this month. It notes that the various fire districts already cooperate in many ways.

The San Andreas Fire Protection District station, for example, serves as a training center for the entire region. The Altaville-Melones Fire Protection District keeps one of its engines in a Murphys Fire Protection District station in Vallecito. And all the districts regularly cooperate when responding to incidents.

The report suggests that districts along Highway 4 from Copperopolis to Arnold might be one region suitable for consolidation. Angels Camp Fire Department, which is in relatively strong condition, very compact, and is the only city fire department in the county, was not included in the suggested consolidation.

A second region suitable for consolidation could be the districts in Murphys, West Point, Mountain Ranch and San Andreas. And finally, the third region is the Valley Springs area, which is already on the consolidation path.

“I think if they get together and get a stronger organization they will have a better ability to improve their finances,” Benoit said. “I have never seen any of these consolidations that have failed.”

Contact reporter Dana M. Nichols at (209) 607-1361 or dnichols@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at www.recordnet.com/calaverasblog