Dry Creek tribe plans own fire department

For almost a decade since River Rock Casino first opened, the tribe that runs it has relied on the Geyserville fire department to respond to emergencies.

When an elderly person collapses while playing a slot machine, a woman goes into labor or a car engine overheats and catches fire, Geyserville firefighters are called.

But the fire department is four miles away along winding Highway 128, hardly an ideal arrangement for responding to life-and-death situations.

As a result, the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians is planning to establish its own fire department to handle calls at the hilltop casino and surrounding reservation.

"If we can be there in a minute, rather than three to four, it's irresponsible not to do it," Tribal Chairman Harvey Hopkins said Tuesday.

If there is a major fire or other disaster in the area that keeps the Geyserville fire department busy, Dry Creek officials say it could leave the casino vulnerable.

"The idea is we've got to be prepared to protect ourselves," Hopkins said. "We want to be sure our guests and employees are protected as well as they can be."

But not everyone is convinced how well it will work, including Geyserville fire officials.

"They can have any fire department they want," Geyserville Fire Chief Paul Pigoni said. "They're up there on their own. I have concerns if they have their own department (about) what level of training and standards they will adhere to."

North County Supervisor Mike McGuire said it will impact the Geyserville community if the tribe withdraws the $333,000 it now pays the department annually to handle River Rock calls.

"Enhanced fire coverage at the casino is important, but it can't come at the expense of the current agreement," McGuire said. "The casino and the surrounding community benefit from the current coverage."

Hopkins said the tribe will continue to rely on the Geyserville fire department, but indicated Dry Creek will likely renegotiate the annual payment because the department will play less of a role in calls to the casino.

"We have to have that conversation with Geyserville," Hopkins said, but added "we will still have a good relationship with Geyserville."

In the meantime, to help hire and train personnel and guide the fledgling tribal department, Dry Creek hired Robert Nelson, a former municipal fire chief in Southern California who has helped other gaming tribes establish fire departments.

The first tangible sign of the Dry Creek fire department is a ladder truck that showed up a few days after Christmas.

Hopkins and another man drove it there after obtaining it from another tribe, the Big Pine Rancheria near Bishop.

"This is the beginning of the Dry Creek Fire Department. I'm excited about the tribe taking this step," Hopkins said during an interview Tuesday inside his rancheria office, with the fire truck parked outside.

The ladder on the mid-1980s truck can reach the top of the tent-like casino structure that draws 2,000 to 3,000 people daily, but not the adjacent, seven-story parking garage that's visible from miles away.

The garage and casino, however, both have sprinkler systems in the event of fire.

By summer if all goes smoothly, the tribe hopes to add two more fire engines and build a 2,400-square-foot fire station that will be manned by paid staff and volunteers.

The number of paid staff members and the budget is still being determined.

Nelson said the ideal situation would be no less than three firefighters on duty at any given time, which would include at a minimum a part-time paid captain, or lieutenant, and volunteers.

Pigoni is concerned about how all this will impact his department.

The funding he receives now from the tribe, he said, allows him to pay for round-the-clock protection, equivalent to four full-time positions.

"The fact they're providing funding has helped increase the level of service we've been able to provide the community," Pigoni said.

He also questions whether the Dry Creek tribe will have the same level of expertise to respond to calls, or can do it for the same cost.

With about 100 calls a year at the casino, mostly all for medical emergencies, Pigoni said there may not be the call volume to justify the expense of a tribal fire department.

He said that for the most part "fire danger is very, very low" at the casino because vegetation has been cleared to reduce the chance of conflagrations.

But Nelson said "fire can build tremendously in a short period of time."

You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com