East Contra Costa Fire Protection District Awarded Additional Funds from the Legislature

SACRAMENTO – Seeing that the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District  (ECCFPD) had a mobile fire unit training tower high on its list of needs, Assemblymember Jim Frazier (D-Discovery Bay) was able to acquire $500,000 in the budget process to help pay for the centerpiece of ECCFPD’s training regimen.

Early this week, Governor Newsom signed SB 109 by the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, a bill that makes technical amendments to the Budget Act of 2019 including additional funds for the ECCFPD.

“Nothing is more important than continuing training assistance for our firefighter personnel, especially in this age of devastating fires,” said Assemblymember Frazier. Funding for the ECCFPD was first established when the district was mostly rural and has not evolved as the East County population has grown. The property tax allocation share has stayed at 7% of the total county funds while need for services has grown dramatically as more people have moved to the area.

“This is fantastic news, additional funding for the fire district is a huge win for the residents and businesses in East Contra Costa,” said Brian Oftedal, President of the ECCFPD. “For years, our Firefighters have made due with training in parking structures, abandoned houses, parking lots or where ever they could find an opportunity. Now they will be able to have a dedicated facility, within our district, to maintain their firefighting, rescue and emergency medical skills.”

Currently, the ECCFPD has 3 active fire stations with 3 firefighters each at any given time. The district, in partnership with the City of Oakley, is constructing a fourth fire station set to be completed in the spring of 2020 to help with fire coverage. “Every little bit of money we can identify to improve fire service in East County will go to good use,” Frazier added. “I am pleased we could get an additional $500,000 for training for East Contra Costa Fire Protection District.”

The ECCFPD is an independent special district governed by an elected Board of Directors that sets policy, appoints and supervises the Fire Chief. ECCFPD serves about 115,000 residents in the cities of Brentwood, and Oakley and the townships of Discovery Bay, Bethel Island, Knightsen, Byron, Marsh Creek, and Morgan Territory. The ECCFPD service area covers 249 square miles, including rural, suburban, and urban development.

Assemblymember Frazier represents the 11^th Assembly District, which includes the communities of Antioch, Bethel Island, Birds Landing, Brentwood, Byron, Collinsville, Discovery Bay, Fairfield, Isleton, Knightsen, Locke, Oakley, Pittsburg (partial), Rio Vista, Suisun City, Travis AFB, Vacaville and Walnut Grove.