Surge in fire department staffing across Sonoma County as new funding kicks in

It’s a hot market for firefighter jobs throughout Sonoma County with dozens of recent hires and more openings available as numerous agencies hustle to fill slots and bolster staffing.

Jobs are open at small and large agencies - even PG&E is hiring its own firefighting staff, which is a first for the utility company seeking at least 50 firefighters for high fire danger areas in the state, including the North Bay.

And like the housing market, if location is everything then that’s also been in firefighters’ favor.

Job postings have cropped up on the Sonoma Coast, along the Russian River, and along the Highway 101 corridor from Santa Rosa to the south county.

“Everybody seems to be hiring. It’s crazy out there,” said Rancho Adobe and Petaluma Fire Chief Leonard Thompson, who has nine positions to fill between now and early next year for Rancho Adobe. “We’re in a fight to get the best candidates.”

Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman said the hiring spree makes him concerned about competition. He has money to hire three firefighters - the first paid firefighters for the historically volunteer Russian River-area fire district - but can’t do it until later this summer.

“We hope to hire about July or August but the pool is going to be pretty depleted,” Baxman said. “There are still going to be people out of the academy but we’re not going to get experience unless you pay competitive wages and benefits.”

The hiring surge is driven by new money coming from fire district tax measures approved by voters last fall for three fire agencies and by additional money allocated by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to buoy the region’s struggling firefighting agencies. The spending reflects a clearer public recognition of the need for a robust network in the aftermath of two deadly and devastating fire seasons in California.

“We are recognizing it’s time to really invest in firefighting services countywide and that we can’t keep holding things together with duct tape and bailing twine forever,” said Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins who represents the west county. “Our firefighting network is stronger than it has been in years.”

Most of the hirings come just ahead of the 2019 fire season, expected to be another bad one due to this year’s extensive rainfall pushing brush and grass growth throughout the region.

Firefighters and chiefs are heartened by the new bodies being added to so many department staff rosters.

“It’s going to make a big, big difference,” Santa Rosa Firefighter Tim Aboudara, president of Local 1401, representing Santa Rosa, Sonoma County Fire and Rancho Adobe firefighters and captains. “There’s always a direct correlation in our effort of fire services with the staffing we have at the ready. The more people we can get on it faster, the better public safety is.”

Eighteen new slots already have been filled by the county’s newest department - the Sonoma County Fire District. Cal Fire has hired 64 seasonal firefighters this spring for Sonoma County stations, with one more round to go as fire season develops. Six permanent positions are being filled between Cloverdale and Geyserville fire districts, three for Schell-Vista, six for Gold Ridge, and Bodega Bay is getting three new firefighter-paramedics.

The county’s biggest and best-paying fire agency, the city of Santa Rosa, recently hired three firefighter-paramedics and hopes to hire eight more in early fall if the department budget holds, Santa Rosa Fire Chief Tony Gossner said.

Some of the agencies previously hadn’t been able to staff more than one paid person on an engine at time, with heavy reliance on volunteers to fill the seats. The new county money will guarantee two paid people on duty for each shift.

The swell in local hiring activity comes amid a statewide surge in firefighting recruitment following years of recession-related staff freezes and a recent flurry of retirements. It’s also driven by the state’s increased focus on the growing threat of catastrophic wildfires, according to fire officials.

“For the past two years there has been an uptick in hiring across the state,” said Fera Dayani, deputy communications director for California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Committee, an agency that offers testing and training guidelines.

Competition for the local jobs is steep, said chiefs, and salaries for the open slots vary widely.

The high is Santa Rosa’s entry level firefighter, at $7,147 per month. Sonoma County Fire District is paying about 5 percent less, Aboudara said. Rancho Adobe’s part-time firefighters start at about $3,556 per month, but that salary is being negotiated higher for the pending new hires. Entry level for seasonal Cal Fire firefighters is $3,273 per month, according to Cal Fire.

PG&E’s new firefighting force will be made up of year round, full-time utility company workers, unlike prior years when the company hired private contractors. The plan is for at least 25, two-person teams, including an experienced fire captain and trained firefighter per team. The hires should be in place by next month, said spokeswoman Deanna Contreras.

The firefighter teams will accompany utility crews to watch for fire issues, but also conduct fire prevention and defensible space inspections and will protect company infrastructure. During fires, they’ll also work under the direction of state and local fire officials, she said. At least one of the two-person teams will be stationed in Sonoma County.

Many of the area hires are local residents already volunteering or working part time with Sonoma County’s nearly three dozen firefighting agencies. Others have come to the county to attend the Santa Rosa Junior College firefighter and paramedic academy.

“We develop a lot of homegrown talent,” Aboudara said. “We export more than we import.”

The new group of 18 Sonoma County Fire District firefighters will work in Windsor, Rincon Valley, Bennett Valley and the rural Mountain area in the hills east of Santa Rosa, as well as aid neighboring agencies. They’ll start July 1 and bump the district’s roster to about 50 firefighters, led by some 10 ranking positions including chief, assistant chief and battalion chiefs. The beefed up staffing will assure three firefighters on an engine district wide - which is the recommended industry standard. It also will offer improved staffing depth during the long fire season when local fire crews often leave the county for weeks at a time to help on distant or neighboring wildland fires, said Cyndi Foreman, spokeswoman for the newly formed fire district and fire prevention officer.

“It’s really an awesome time for us to be able to invest in our community,” Foreman said. “We’re building our resources. These new folks we’re bringing in, they’re the future of this organization.”

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com.