CAL Fire/ Riverside County Fire Department Palo Verde Valley Fire Protection Issues

Riverside County Fire Station #43, located in Blythe, is unable to sufficiently support the vehicles and equipment assigned there. The 2014-2015 Grand Jury recommended the replacement of Station #43 or relocating it to a site closer to the Colorado River. The station is not large enough to accommodate all vehicles and equipment, and is therefore, inadequate. In the 2016 commissioned independent study by TriData of RCFD resources, several recommendations were made including the closure of Station #43 and consolidating its personnel with Station #45. The study noted that few emergency responses were required of Battalion 8 during the study period, and that few were structure fires or major emergencies. The 2017-2018 Grand Jury visited three stations in Battalion 8 and observed the fire engine assigned to Station #43 was parked in the driveway and the rescue vehicle was on the street. This exposes the vehicles to extreme weather, tampering, and vandalism. The sun and heat causes deterioration of the paint, decals and rubber seals on the engine and pumps. Fine dust infiltrates essential electrical parts. This exposure of RCFD vehicles to the elements and to passersby on the street, including children and vagrants, is a serious problem especially when considering that a life-saving medical supply kit is onboard Engine #43, as it is on all County fire engines. The Grand Jury queried personnel of various ranks and failed to obtain a consistent answer to the question of whether the medical kits were even securely locked while onboard the vehicles.

The city of Blythe maintains an historic fire department which responds to calls within the city. The Fire Chief, or his designee, assembles a team and provides guidance when a call for emergency service is received. After the volunteers arrive at the station, a 3 firefighting team – which typically consists of a Captain, an Engineer, and a Firefighter – is dispatched to the emergency. Public reports from the Blythe Fire Department for the period of October 2017 through April 2018 indicate that the Department received 221 calls for service. More than half of those calls were not fire-related, but for public assistance, rescues, or medical aid. The Blythe Fire Department is staffed with volunteers who are trained Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) who can only provide Basic Life Support (BLS) assistance. They are not certified paramedics and cannot provide Advance Life Support (ALS) measures, if needed. In the event ALS measures are required, EMTs must wait for the arrival of an ambulance which is staffed with a certified paramedic. Blythe pays an annual salary to the Fire Chief and the Deputy Chief. The volunteer firemen receive a flat payment for each incident response and an additional payment when response to an incident exceeds one hour. While this may appear to be a cost saving in relation to a fully-staffed, 24-hour RCFD contract team, Blythe is spending approximately $440,000 annually for volunteer personnel and the costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of fire vehicles. Public records indicate that at least $220,000 was paid to volunteers in 2016. The Blythe Fire Department has old equipment which is subject to reliability issues. There is a newer model engine (2015), but the other two fire engines are more than 15 years old, an age when most fire companies reduce front-line use of engines and move them to back- up use. At fifteen years of age, engine reliability is questionable and servicing issues can be expensive. The historic vehicles include a 1923 fire engine and a 1975 truck.

RCFD Station #43 is located less than one-quarter of a mile from the Blythe Fire Department. Station #43 is staffed with a full complement of firefighting professionals, including certified paramedics. Since there is no formal agreement between the RCFD and Blythe, except for the standard mutual aid agreement that exists between all local jurisdictions, Station #43 does not respond to emergency calls within the city limits. The Grand Jury concluded that available and certified paramedics and other first responders are not being utilized to the benefit of the residents of the Palo Verde Valley or the city of Blythe. 4