Napa County Grand Jury
• 2022-2023
Napa County Volunteer Firefighters: Lack Of Volunteers And Their Utilization Are Burning Issues*
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 8 findings
F1
The current structure of the volunteer monthly stipend does not reward the volunteers who respond to multiple calls.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
By December 1, 2023, the Board of Supervisors develop a plan that calls for the volunteer's monthly stipend to be replaced with a Paid Per Call system.
F2
The operational model for how volunteers are used in support of the Napa County Fire Department is ineffective because it does not hold volunteers accountable for not responding to emergency calls.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
By December 1, 2023 the Board of Supervisors establish a committee of volunteer firefighters, paid staff from the Napa County Fire Department, and members of the community to develop a new operational model that places more emphasis in responding to larger fires in a surge capacity. The new model would classify the volunteers as reserve firefighters.
F3
The low response rate from the Soda Canyon Volunteer Fire Station compromises its effectiveness to provide reliable fire protective service.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
By December 1, 2023 the Board of Supervisors authorize the Napa County Fire Department to relocate and consolidate the volunteers assigned to the Soda Canyon Volunteer Fire Station to the Napa County Fire Department's paid fire station #25 on Monticello Road. The relocation and consolidation includes moving the remaining fire apparatus equipment from the Soda Canyon Volunteer Fire Station to the paid station #25.
F4
Napa County does not have a dedicated web page or program for the purpose of recruiting new volunteers from a broader group of potential applicants.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
By December 1, 2023, the Napa County Deputy Fire Chief, in conjunction with the Volunteer Fire Chiefs, establish a County-wide dedicated web page for the purpose of providing information to the public about the volunteer firefighter program in Napa County. The information must include a mission statement, the minimum requirements to become a volunteer firefighter, and the level of training necessary to meet state-mandated fire and safety regulations.
F5
The Board of Supervisors representative for the Fire Service Advisory Committee has not changed in four years, creating a lack of representation from all five Supervisory Districts.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
By September 30, 2023 the Board of Supervisors representative to the Fire Services Advisory Committee will be appointed on a yearly cycle with each supervisor serving on a rotating basis.
F6
The selection process and criteria for the position of Volunteer Fire Chief is not standardized under state-mandated industrial guidelines.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
By December 1, 2023 the Napa County Deputy Fire Chief adopt and enforce the selection criteria for the position of Volunteer Fire Chief that follows state-mandated guidelines.
F7
The volunteers do not have a liaison officer to act as a spokesperson between them and the Napa County Fire Department, resulting in miscommunication and misunderstandings between both groups.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
By December 1, 2023 the Board of Supervisors reinstate the volunteer liaison position with a retired firefighter.
F8
The volunteer firefighters have morale problems resulting from a perceived lack of appreciation by the Board of Supervisors and the Napa County Fire Department.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8
By December 1, 2023 the Board of Supervisors and the Napa County Deputy Fire Chief coordinate with the local media to publish a feature article for the general public highlighting the successes of the volunteer program.
Commendations 1
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CM1 Page 191.TheGrandJury commends theAngwin VolunteerFirefighter Companyfor theirmorale building strategiesbyprovidingan exerciseandweightroom at thefire stationfor usebythe volunteers duringtheir leisure time. 2.TheGrandJury commends theCarnerosVolunteer FireChief andthe NapaCounty Fire Deputy FireChieffor their efforts insecuring fundingfrom theNapaValleyVintners Association to purchase for eachvolunteerfirefightercompany the softwareand hardwarefor a“real-time volunteeronline staffingavailabilitysystem.” 3.TheGrandJury commends theCalFire management teamfor theirvision andprofessionalism in dealing withrecentadministrativechangesinthe NapaCounty Fire Department. 4.TheGrandJury commends theNapaCounty Fire Department andtheCounty of Napafor the planning anddevelopment ofanew, two-bay, volunteersatellitefire stationinthe Carneros regionof Napa County.
No Responses Found 1
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
Napa County Board of Supervisors
Elected County Office
* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.