Fire officials seek to reshape Sonoma County fire services

A huge advisory group of fire officials and firefighters wrestling with the complex question of how to reshape rural fire services throughout Sonoma County decided this week that they need to break into more - but smaller - committees.

The decision was made at a Tuesday meeting of the 71-member main committee, which is overseeing the county’s ongoing study of the 41 local fire departments and how services are provided. About half of the committee members attended, including roughly 10 who listened via conference call with varying success.

The decision to set up two subcommittees was an effort to hone in on what data the county needs to collect from the numerous agencies and why it needs the information.

“We need to bring it down to a smaller focus group to identify what we’re looking to collect,” Sonoma Valley Chief Mark Freeman said.

That sentiment was an offshoot of the frustration expressed during the meeting by fire officials who fear the county’s study is overly broad and lacks any clear vision about how it will play into the overhaul effort.

County administrators are seeking five years of information covering budgets, volunteer statistics and details of each department’s calls - totaling roughly 50,000 each year countywide.

But chiefs are not convinced the data collection will result in a comprehensive or helpful picture on where to go in the future with fire services

“It almost feels like it’s backward,” said Bill Bullard, Graton’s assistant chief. “What are we trying to answer?”

Chris Thomas, the assistant county administrator who is supervising the study and committee meetings, said the information is necessary for the committee to have a clear understanding of the current state of fire services.

“We have to know all of the pieces to the puzzle,” he said.

“Do you want to analyze every call every agency does?” asked Bill Newman, a Bodega Bay fire board member who was participating by phone.

“Yes, in some fashion, you bet,” Thomas said.

“You’re going to bury us all,” said Paul Bernier, a Geyserville fire board member, referring to the time it would take to gather the data.

The issue of change in the county’s diverse fire services community is a charged one, mixing the needs and desires of volunteer companies in the least-populated pockets of the county and larger, independent district and city departments. Most have historic standing in their communities and change - including potential consolidation with neighboring agencies - raises fears of loss of identity.

The county Board of Supervisors commissioned the fire services study in September out of a growing concern about the wave of challenges facing local departments, including diminished budgets and increasing costs for fire equipment and personnel.

Last fall, after a series of community meetings and requests for reams of data from each agency, the county formed the advisory committee and made it open to anyone, resulting in the current roster of 71.

The committee’s size has been a concern for many fire officials who have feared such a huge group had little chance of success. Formal recommendations from the committee are expected by late fall.

The group’s first two meetings, held late last year, involved fixing technical glitches as the county tried to accommodate some in far flung areas by having them participate via conference call. Otherwise, Gold Ridge Chief Dan George said the huge group “reached consensus on what consensus was.”

After Tuesday night’s meeting, both Thomas and fire officials expressed hope the smaller committees will result in progress.

“It’s hard and it’s messy … but I think we got somewhere,” Thomas said.

Fred Peterson, president of the Geyserville volunteer firefighters association, compared the effort to “trying to herd cats to come to a resolution.”

Regardless of how the county study proceeds, it has spurred many chiefs countywide to reach out to each other to improve communication and erase misconceptions, several chiefs said.

Two informal gatherings, at Graton and Geyserville’s fire houses, have brought about two dozen chiefs together for a casual chance to discuss the situation.

And chiefs within several regions, including the Russian River and Sonoma Valley, said they’ve stepped up conversations about working more closely together.

“One thing the county study has done - we’ve realized we’ve got to do something. We all have (staff) retention problems. We’re all doing OK now, but for how long? Out of self-preservation we have to consolidate,” said Monte Rio Chief Steve Baxman.

Freeman, the Sonoma Valley fire chief, said concerns and ideas about the study prompted the valley’s seven fire agencies to begin meeting monthly since September. “It has brought us closer together to talk about what we can do,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @rossmannreport.