The District Today 

The San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District is an autonomous Special District as defined under the Fire Protection District Law of 1987, Health and Safety Code, Section 13800, of the State of California. 

The SRVFPD is responsible for providing the highest level of emergency and non-emergency services to the community in an effort to protect life, the environment and property. 

A five member Board of Directors, elected by their constituents and each serving a four-year term, governs the District.   The Directors meet once a month at the Administrative Office, headquartered in San Ramon, to determine overall policy for the District.  Special committee meetings provide oversight in four areas:  Personnel, Finance, Facilities and Long Range Planning/Fire Prevention. 

The Fire Chief oversees the general operations of the District in accordance with the policy direction prescribed by the Board of Directors.  The Fire Chief serves as the Treasurer for the District.  At present, the Fire Chief is supported by his executive staff, consisting of three Assistant Chiefs and the Finance Director. 

The Assistant Chiefs are responsible for three distinct operational functions of the District. The Administration Assistant Chief oversees personnel standards and procedures, labor negotiations, workers’ compensation and training.  The Assistant Chief for Support ensures that current and future information management systems for communication are adequate, facilities are maintained and updated and prevention services are efficient and effective.  The Operations Assistant Chief is responsible for the delivery of emergency services to the citizens and public and the design and delivery of vehicles and apparatus. The Finance Director is responsible for the District’s financial policies, systems and procedures, including cash management and investments, accounting and budgeting, accounts receivable/payable, payroll, attendance, purchasing, risk management and fixed assets.

The District employs 168 personnel, in addition to approximately 43 volunteers.  The District maintains ten Fire Stations and one Administrative Office Building, all strategically located within the District.   Of the ten Stations, nine Stations house paid firefighters and volunteers staff several of the stations.  This allows for staffing of thirteen engine companies and four volunteer companies, including three truck companies, five transport Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances and other specialized vehicles for the cross-staffing of apparatus based upon the type of call.  In addition, the District operates its own Communications Center, located at Station 31 and staffed with two dispatchers, one supervising dispatcher and a mobile command post supported by 11 volunteers.  All other Administrative personnel reside at the Administrative Office.   

SERVICE AREA AND SERVICES 

The District’s service area encompasses approximately 155 square miles, covering the communities of Alamo, Blackhawk, the Town of Danville, Diablo, the City of San Ramon, the southern boundary of Morgan Territory and the Tassajara Valley all located in Contra Costa County. 

Within the boundaries of the District are wildland areas, single and multi-family residential units, hotels, a hospital, numerous convalescent/assisted living facilities, equestrian areas, hiking trails, rock climbing areas and a facility housing a low-level nuclear reactor.  With such diversity, it is mandatory the District be equipped with proper apparatus and appropriately staffed to handle all emergencies. 

The total population serviced by the District exceeds 140,794.   On business days, the figure grows by another 23,000 to include the personnel employed in the Bishop Ranch Business Park, a 585-acre development located in San Ramon.  Since its inception in 1984, the Bishop Ranch Business Park has evolved into a nationally recognized premier business center, comprised of over 330 companies, from established Global 500 companies to innovative start-ups.  Two of the larger employers in Bishop Ranch are ChevronTexaco and SBC.  

The District must be prepared for emergencies and potential exposure to hazardous materials in the area of the Interstate 680 corridor that passes through the San Ramon Valley.  Trucks and other vehicles carry virtually every known hazardous material to points within the Greater Bay Area.   

The District’s philosophy with regard to fire, medical or hazardous material emergencies has been one of a strong, rapid deployment of appropriate resources to mitigate any emergency as recognized by a Class 2 Insurance Service Office (ISO) rating.  The District’s goal is an overall response time of 5 minutes.  Under normal conditions, seventeen emergency response companies can be deployed for an emergency within the boundaries of the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District. 

When the first units for a structure fire are dispatched from the 13 staffed emergency response companies, the three closest engines, a ladder truck and the shift Battalion Chief are automatically assigned.  In addition, a rescue medic ambulance can be dispatched in the event one of the occupants of the structure or District personnel needs medical assistance at the scene.  In some of the rural areas of the District where hydrants are not available, the response consists of three engines, one or more water tenders and a Battalion Chief.  A second alarm consists of two additional engines and another truck or water tender. 

The District’s Communications Center provides its pre-arrival instruction under the auspices of Contra Costa County Emergency Medical Services.  Dispatchers are highly trained to assist the caller in life saving techniques (CPR with respiratory emergency, cardiac emergency, strokes, etc.) prior to the arrival of the emergency responders. In 1996, the San Ramon Valley Fire District Communications Center became recognized as the world’s seventh accredited emergency medical dispatch center.  This award was achieved through conscientious adherence to proven emergency medical dispatch protocols.  The renewal process for accreditation is every three years.  The District was reaccredited in the year 2000. 

In the spring of 1995, the District began staffing selected units with Firefighter/Paramedics to provide citizens with a higher level of service.  Currently, the District has a total of 49 paramedics, staffing a paramedic on every unit during any 24-hour period.   The District’s medical calls receive a “First Responder” response that includes pre-arrival instructions by dispatch, as the first step in the treatment process.  A patient is then treated by a team, including at least one paramedic, who arrives in a fire engine as the closest unit to the emergency.  The “First Responder” might also be a paramedic on an ambulance, depending on the incident location.  Patients are evaluated and, if necessary, transported by a paramedic-staffed ambulance.  In some cases, transport via air ambulance is necessary.  The District maintains close communications with several air ambulance services in the area.    

As of April 14, 2003, the District adopted the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and its regulations known as the “Privacy Rule” for the protection of individually identifiable health information.  The District’s entire workforce received training regarding their obligations under the Rule.  

The most important non-emergency activity for suppression/ambulance personnel which benefits the public is our innovative and continual training programs.  These training programs reinforce existing skills and convey new concepts and techniques to maintain the District’s high skill level, as well as keeping up with modern advances in the emergency service field.  All District Firefighters are trained EMTs (1A) and State Certified Firefighter (1) with specialized defibrillator training.  For programs such as Hazardous Materials and Emergency Medical, re-certification is mandated by State and/or Federal law.  Other specialized training programs cover such diverse topics as Urban Search and Rescue, OSHA Confined Space Training, Disaster Preparedness, Night Drills, Progressive Hose Lays, Fire Shelters and Rescue Operations, utilizing the “Jaws of Life” and other auto extrication tools and techniques. 

The District’s Training Division is also very active coordinating periodic training with many local agencies, such as the Town of Danville, the City of San Ramon, Mt. Diablo State Park and the California Department of Forestry.  Some of the classes offered to these agencies and the public are in Hazardous Materials, Emergency Operations Center Training, CPR certification and re-certification and First Aid.   The District serves as the primary Emergency Operations Center (EOC) location for the Town of Danville and the alternate center for the City of San Ramon. 

The SRVFPD provides full service fire prevention functions.   The Fire Prevention Division works closely with various community agencies, utility providers and builders to facilitate all construction activities in the District.  The Division performs inspections

for code compliance, weed abatement, fire suppression systems, fire warning, smoke control and water systems to ensure those facilities meet fire safety codes. 

The District has enacted a comprehensive fire prevention ordinance that includes sprinkler requirements for most commercial buildings and residential buildings exceeding 5,000 square feet.  This approach has led to a higher degree of fire and life safety and reduced insurance costs.   

The District’s public education programs, providing safety and disaster preparedness information, extend beyond the traditional school safety programs by reaching out to the elderly and business communities.  The traditional fire safety school program has been expanded to provide a 50-minute in-classroom teaching activity for all classes 1^st through 5^th grade.   The interactive and informative presentations reach more than 6,000 students annually.  

The District has a non-traditional educational commitment in the form of the Tassajara One-Room School House program.  This 114-year-old “treasure” became an asset of the District with the annexation of the Tassajara Fire Protection District.  The District has restored the school and the site to safely accommodate community events.  Its special function is to serve as a facility for third grade students to experience a day in an 1888 one-room school, staffed by the volunteers of the San Ramon Valley Museum.  These dedicated docents provide a historical background about the San Ramon Valley in an effort to educate children about the past.  The residents of the area hold close ties to this prized historical landmark and wish to protect and preserve its heritage.  The District has played an integral role in the endeavor. Through handout materials, all activities carry public safety messages or prevention instructions provided by District staff. 

The District works closely with community organizations, such as service clubs and local Chambers of Commerce, for distribution and installation of smoke detectors for newborn babies and the elderly and neighborhood disaster preparedness activities for the entire area.  Supplemental disaster preparedness training is available to schools and neighborhood groups who have completed steps for their own personal preparedness (i.e. reduction of non-structural hazards, food and water supplies for 72 hours.)  The program’s intent is to enable citizens to survive and take care of themselves during and after a disaster when emergency resources are overwhelmed.  The District offers supportive training at no charge (for groups of 20 or more) in three areas: Fire Prevention/Suppression Techniques, Survival First Aid/Triage and Damage Control/Light Search and Rescue. 

The San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District partners with the City of San Ramon and the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department in supplying gas and diesel fuel for City and County vehicles.  In addition, the District holds a five-year lease agreement with the City of San Ramon for their use of office space at Station #39.   The District also leases space to various tenants to erect and operate communication facilities (Utility Easement Towers) at five station locations within the District.

The Fire District was recently awarded a Class 2 ISO rating.  Click here to view the rating: Awarded a Class 2 ISO Rating