Sonoma Valley to hire a dozen more firefighters with $3.3 million federal grant

Sonoma Valley Fire District will receive ?$3.3 million from the federal government to hire a dozen firefighter-paramedics, boosting day-to-day response abilities throughout the valley, Fire Chief Steve Akre said Wednesday.

The three-year grant, through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was endorsed by Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, who Wednesday praised the award’s benefit to valley residents.

The additional firefighters will be housed at Sonoma, Glen Ellen and the Valley of the Moon stations and guarantee three firefighters per engine instead of two. Three on an engine follows the national industry standard and has been a longtime goal for Sonoma Valley.

“This is a huge improvement,” Akre said. “Right now our engines are understaffed with two. This will allow us to provide better, more efficient and safer levels of staffing to the community.”

Fire officials had hoped to raise the money for added firefighters last year with a November parcel tax increase ballot measure. But in a crushing blow to Akre and the department, the 2018 measure came up short by nine votes.

The money will be available in March, and Akre is preparing to hire. A dozen more firefighters will boost the district’s staff by one-third.

Hiring could be tough as a result of a recent glut of firefighting jobs open countywide, Akre said. Several local fire chiefs, also concerned about having two people on an engine, have received money from Sonoma County’s Board of Supervisors or through their own parcel tax increases, allowing them to hire dozens of firefighters.

The grant requires a local financial contribution each year - $117,000 for Glen Ellen and $235,000 for the Valley of the Moon/Sonoma Valley district - and can come from reserve funding, Akre said. The third year’s price tag will rise dramatically, but by then Akre hoped current plans for all five Sonoma Valley fire agencies to consolidate should be completed. The ongoing, annual cost to support the 12 new jobs was estimated at $1.8 ?million. Akre said funding would be available from the much larger district to afford the added hires when the grant ends.

Sonoma Valley suffered severe devastation in the October 2017 firestorm as multiple blazes erupted within hours of each other after strong winds knocked down power lines. Fire ripped through communities including eastern Sonoma, the Mayacamas Mountains, Glen Ellen and Kenwood, destroying more than 500 homes.