Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (Con Fire) this week announced three firetrucks across the District are now staffed with four firefighters.
Increased staffing raises the number of firefighters dispatched on Con Fire’s busiest trucks – T6, T83, and T84 — to four, from three. This effectively doubles the number of emergency-response tasks two two-person firefighter teams can independently perform at fires and other incidents.
Firefighters operate in teams of two on emergency incidents both for their own, as well as, citizen safety. The increase to four firefighters ensures each firetruck has the ability to field two independent firefighter teams on any incident. In addition to fighting structure fires, firetrucks routinely respond to other emergencies including a variety of rescues, vehicle accidents and emergency medical calls.
“I am pleased to announce this important expansion of our emergency response capabilities,” said Charles “Chuck” Stark, assistant fire chief – Emergency Operations Division, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District. “We expect this move to a four-person staffing model to significantly increase our capabilities to support the communities we serve.”
The move to four-person firetruck staffing is partially funded by a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The purpose of the grant is to collect data on four- versus three-person staffing models.
6 comments
Am glad we have cal fire on concord we had a pretty big fire last night An they showed up fast an got it handle
Money would be better spent in re-opening Station 12 in Martinez . Although great for fires and car extrications the fourth person will just be a spectator on most calls. Mountain View residents deserve their station re-opened.
About time, all depts should have 4 person crews. As a matter of fact, per OSHA standards these guys cannot even enter your burning house until there’s at least four people at the scene (two inside, two outside rule). So even if they get there quick they’re gonna have to wait for the second crew to arrive unless it’s an obvious rescue situation
I’m glad to learn this increase in personnel has been implemented. Instead of giving funding credit to a faceless organization with a sophomoric acronym for a name, the credit should go those funding the initiative, i.e. payers of federal taxes. Would be good to see a post from Con Fire saying “Thank you.” as well.
Just out of curiosity, was it necessary for ConFire to apply for the grant and compete with other Fire Districts for the funds, or was it needs based?
Maybe you should use that money and start sending your engines to bravo-ltd’s.
Comments are closed.