It is a fact: public safety is critical to the quality of life we all expect for our families. It is also a fact that the level of fire and medical services in East Contra Costa County is unacceptable. The time it takes to travel from a fire station to a public safety emergency in the district is more than twice as long as it should be – currently around 10 minutes. If you have ever required the assistance of the fire and medical folks you know this feels like a lifetime.
This heightened risk is the consequence of trying to provide more services to the community with fewer resources. The East Contra Costa Fire Protection District (ECCFPD) has had to reduce the number of fire stations from eight to three since the great recession that began in 2008. Front line first responders have been reduced from 52 to 34 with only nine fire fighters on duty any given day. During the same time period, the population has grown to more than 100,000 and that means more 9-1-1 calls for services. This is the bad news.
Here is the good news: Many members of our community are hard at work to improve fire and medical services in the East Contra Costa County. A task force was formed last June 2015 to work on this effort, which resulted in an agreement among Oakley, Brentwood, Contra Costa County and the Fire District to temporarily reopen a fourth station. But this is a temporary fix that lacks a long-term funding solution.
We are now focused on long-term solutions and need our community to participate in the discussion. Every member of the community can be heard by going to www.ourfireservices.org. Here you can sign up to learn more about the issues and provide input. This community discussion will help local officials in their decision making in the coming months.
In addition to the “Our Fire Services” discussion forum, a master plan is being developed for the Fire District. This plan will help us all better understand what it will take to not only serve today’s existing population, but also the population 25 to 30 years from today.
One thing is clear: the Fire District is working on borrowed time and by June 2017 further reductions will be needed if a solution is not found. This problem is severely impacting the communities of Brentwood, Oakley, Bethel Island, Byron, Discovery Bay, Knightsen, and Marsh Creek/Morgan Territory. This is “our” problem and I believe that by working together the solutions will also be “our” solutions.
Please join us at www.ourfireservices.org. The matter is urgent and we need your input now.
Gus Vina City Manager,
City of Brentwood Member of the Fire and Medical Services Task Force
1 comment
Mr Vina,
Do you realize how many times this same lip service has been dished out to the public only to be lied to?
Every possible suggestion or suggested solution has been a waste. When the board becomes elected then we will know it’s our fire service. Until then your very much appreciated help will only create arguments and attacksd on this website. The only thing that is fact would be the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent to ask for more money after being voted down several times. Get that board elected and the named changed like our Supervisor requires. The public does not trust or believe this appointed board.
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