The County has maintained a contract with CDF for fire protection services in the unincorporated areas of the County not protected by cities or fire districts, and County Service Area #1 (CSA #1/Eichler Highlands) since 1962. CDF provides this protection from four County fire stations, each with a three-person, paramedic engine company. CSA #1 is also provided with a three-person engine company. In addition to fire and emergency medical services, CDF provides fire protection planning for new construction, fire prevention activities and life safety inspection in the County areas. These services are coordinated by the County Fire Warden, whose services are provided through the contract with CDF.
CDF oversees the operations of five County-funded volunteer fire companies. This includes the allocation of equipment and supplies, maintenance of fire apparatus operated by the volunteer companies, and coordination of dispatch services. CDF also coordinates the volunteer training program to assure that County volunteer firefighters meet all County, State and Federal training mandates. |
Over the past year, efforts have been focused on upgrading much of the existing infrastructure in the San Mateo County Fire Department and Volunteer fire apparatus. CDF staff has purchased 25 mobile radios for the Department. These radios have been installed in County emergency response vehicles in the Battalion 5 area. In addition, 30 new and OHSA compliant Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) were purchased and placed into service in the same area. Moreover, six of the seven paramedic life support defibrillator monitors were purchased and placed into service Countywide. Also, training and equipment purchases to support the Rapid Intervention Crew (RIC) concept, which has been established by the San Mateo County Fire Chiefs Association, have been initiated making the San Mateo County Fire Department an active member in the day-to-day emergency operations in our County. It is planned to continue the upgrade projects for the paramedic, radio, SCBA and RIC programs in the coming year.
CDF staff are in the design stages to purchase a new Type One fire engine for the CSA #1 service area. This new engine will replace one that has too many road miles and hours of operation. Also in the final stages is the receipt of a new water tender. This water tender will replace an existing vehicle that is over 28 years old and will be placed into service in Battalion 5. The County Fire Department will continue these upgrades. First, aging equipment must be replaced. Secondly, because current planning efforts include the participation of the volunteer as well as the career firefighters, overall morale has increased and has had a positive effect on efficiency.
CDF has been working with the Public Works Department to prioritize and to perform maintenance on the four County-owned fire stations. CDF has also been working diligently with the State and County management staffs to research the possibilities of replacing or rebuilding the Sky Londa, Pescadero, and Belmont fire stations. Current efforts are being focused on identifying funding mechanisms, designs and prioritization of the projects.
CDF staff is working with the Planning and Building Department on the adoption of the Uniform Fire Code (UFC). These efforts will not only help to better coordinate efforts with the other fire departments that have adopted the UFC in past years but will be in synchronization with the Planning and Building staff who are in the process of adopting the current Uniform Building Code (UBC). Having current regulations that are contemporary and in unison with each other (UFC and UBC) will jointly increase efficiency levels.
In addition to the above-listed specific projects, the CDF and the San Mateo County Fire Department volunteer and career firefighters have participated in over 2,100 hours of training, responded to over 2,200 emergency incidents, performed numerous community outreach events, and conducted over 500 building inspections and plans checks.
Because CDF contracts with multiple jurisdictions, CDF requires all contracting jurisdictions to sign the standard State-issued boilerplate contract without any addenda. CDF does provide equal benefits to its employees and also follows a strict non-discrimination policy aligned with the County's non-discrimination language. However, a waiver request of equal benefits and non-discrimination language has been submitted since the boilerplate contract lacks the County's enforcement language.
The County Counsel's Office has reviewed the resolution and finds it in order. |
The total maximum amount of the contract with CDF for FY 2003-04 is $7,531,907. The majority of the contract ($5,956,189) is financed through the Structural Fire Fund which receives monies from property tax levied on all properties located within the County, but outside of cities and fire districts; the remainder ($1,575,718) is financed by the County Service Area #1 Fund which receives property tax revenue and special tax revenue for both police and fire protection. The budgeted amount for the CDF contract amount increased from FY 2002-03 to FY 2003-04 by $431,796, primarily due to an increase in benefit and retirement rates. Invoices from the State on expenses incurred in Schedule A of the contract are based on actual costs of providing service.
There is no impact on the General Fund under this agreement. |
