Emergency Inside - Central Country Fire (CA)

Emergency Inside - Central County Fire (CA)

Burlingame's historic engine rig (used for public events)

The following is a summary of responses to interview questions regarding the department 

Interviewee: Christine Reed

General Information

Central Country Fire Website: http://www.ccfdonline.org/

* Information found from CCFD website

Central County fire serves three cities: Burlingame, Hillsborough, and Millbrae

1) What is your current position? What does your job entail?

     - The current position is Fire Marshall; this position is part of the command staff (other members include the Fire Chief, Batallion Chiefs, etc.)

     - This position is in charge of understanding what are the interests of the department as a whole and how can the department achieve these interests. Additionally, Christine plays a role in emergency management and preparedness, reaching out to the residents of the community

     - The Fire Marshall is an administration role, which serves one of four arms of the fire department (Four arms: Administration, Operation, Training, Prevention) 

2) What education is preferred by the CCFD? 

     - All positions have various requirements/preferences

     - Many members have completed associates, bachelors, and even some masters degrees (usually in the subject of fire science, emergency management, or business)

     - By no means is a degree required (this goes for many positions in the fire service. However, a degree displays dedication and effort, therefore, it gives you a great advantage

     - Experience from internships (especially from internships offered by the CCFD)

3) What kind of problems exist as a result of becoming a merged department?

     - There are only six engines to serve three cities; if there is a mass incident (such as a big wildfire), then strike teams are sent out. This leaves the department with only THREE engines to serve THREE cities (if you are new to firefighting, this is bizarre; we are talking about nine firefighters on engines serving 70,000 residents*) 

     - Budget management is difficult; various training and equipment are necessary to cover the emergency response teams of three cities. Understandably, resources can become strained. 

• This is why community relationships are key so that the public can contribute donations to help support the department

     - Buy-in; there is a challenge in getting acceptance from department members. The CCFD formed in April of 2004*, and several major changes resulted. For example, a small station was shut down (due to being so proximate to another station and being old). Therefore, it is important to display the benefits to the members of the department in order to contain trust and service

4) Any general problems not associated with the merge?

     - The influx of retirements and influx of new firefighters creates a strain on resources because of the demand for training

• Probation firefighters (aka newbies) are constantly training in order to achieve proper certifications and become adequately prepared for incidents
• The problem is that training requires the trainees and teachers go out of service (they cannot be dispatched) as to not be disturbed
• Therefore, when a crew goes out of service, another crew must cover. This can cause problems because the covering crew may be further (which is a cause for longer response times) or the covering crew could also be occupied with training/incidents

     -  The decline of local firefighters; while local firefighters are by no means a requirement, it is essential to have a connection with the surrounding community. Locals provide an intimate connection with the surrounding residents. Lacking local firefighters only means that outreach will be more difficult, but still completely possible. 

• Why there is a decline: the rising prices of living spaces in the Bay Area (the economy is absolutely mad) and rising population contribute to a difficult experience in the Bay
• Firefighters and their families move eastward toward Sacramento, and even beyond (some commute from Reno). Some move to southern California.
• The distance creates long commutes, which cannot be sustained for a daily nine to five job. However, Central County firefighters work 24 shifts, with 96 hours off. This allows firefighters to make the daily commute without sacrificing vast amounts of resources

4) What are the benefits of becoming a merged Department?

     - Training is much more collaborative; members from various departments get to know each other

     - By merging, members can collaborate much more effectively on the scene.            -> Compare this with North Country Fire Authority; while their fire administration is merged, their individual firefighters are not (so Daly City firefighters stay as Daly city Firefighters instead of becoming North County Fire firefighters). This makes collaboration slightly more difficult as the firefighters are not directly connected

• Read the interview with Daly City Fire here

5) How involved is the CCFD involved with its surrounding community? 

     - CCFD is really involved!

     - The department hosts and attends various events such as pancake breakfasts, festivals, parades, fundraisers, charities, etc.

     - CCFD openly provides station tours to the public; this is key in order to create an atmosphere of trust and openness with the surrounding community

     - It is a lot of work; note that mistrust does and will always exist 

• Personal note: There seems to be a pattern with communities that have a major population of immigrants, specifically those who come from countries with corrupt politicians. Those who originate from said corrupted countries have a harder time accepting and approaching US public workers. This is a severe problem when it comes to fire safety. Mistrusting individuals, out of fear, avoid any fire inspections or refuse to comply, leaving a possibility for dangerous incidents

6) What are the most common calls?

     - Medical (compose an estimated 85% of total calls) 

7) Any common calls specific to the area CCFD covers?

     - Public assist calls for falls

     - The three cities have an aging population; the elderly tend to live alone. Hence, when a falling incident occurs, they often resort to calling 9-1-1 for help (whether it be through Life Alert or some other alarm)

     - A current proactive measure that is being taken to reduce the number of fall calls is a Fall-prevention program

• The program focuses on educating two populations
• Population one: residents. The program focuses on the causes of falls and how to prevent falls. This information is distributed to the population
• Population two: operating employees. The program brings awareness to firefighters as to the causes as falls. Additionally, the program aims to collaborate with dispatch in order to prioritize other incidents over public assists (often a crew will be on the scene of a fall when a medical call appears; this forces a neighboring engine to cover, lengthening response times) 

8) How does the CCFD collaborate with outside organizations? 

     - For medical; AMR provides all ambulance rigs and medical transportation

     - CAL FIRE: CAL FIRE covers wildland incidents in the CCFD response area, as CCFD has only type 1 engines. CAL FIRE carries type 3 engines, those best suited for the wildland incidents. 

Example of Type 3 Engine

   - CCFD can send up to three strike teams to aid CAL FIRE on wildland incidents

   - CCFD cross staffs a USAR (Urban search and rescue rig) 

   - For Haz-Mat incidents, Belmont is contacted

Thank you to the CCFD team for making this documentation possible!

Check out other interviews on different departments here