Walter F. Ekard Helen N. Robbins-meyer*

The 2003 and 2007 wildfires have demonstrated a need for the creation of a consolidated County fire agency. County Response: The County disagrees partially with the finding. There has been no evidence presented that a consolidated County fire agency would have materially impacted the region's ability to respond to either the 2003 or 2007 wildfires. Wind- driven fire events such as these quickly outstrip any local capability, and prove equally problematic in counties that have consolidated fire agencies as they are in those without consolidated fire agencies. Rather, the decision as to what level of consolidation is optimal must be made based upon the merits of response times and fire and medical coverage on a day to day basis in a community.

The use of Proposition 172 money to fund a County fire agency is appropriate. County Response: The County disagrees. The County has adopted a fire consolidation plan funded with County General Fund dollars, without impacting the Proposition 172 funding of other Public Safety Agencies.

Due to the size and composition of a county that includes 18 cities, solutions need to be proposed and implemented as soon as possible. County Response: The County agrees with the finding.

The County of San Diego does not comply with NFPA standards for emergency response time or emergency response locations County Response: The County agrees that we do not comply with NFPA standards. However, the NFPA standards, which are national recommendations not regulations, apply to suburban structure fires; the unincorporated area of the county is largely rural. Following the actions of the Board of Supervisors on June 25, 2008 (1), the unincorporated county will have travel times as follows; * 56 % in 5 minutes * 29 % in 10 minutes * 8 % in 20 minutes. The longer wait times occur in the more rural areas where there is less density and population. These travel times are well within the County's General Plan requirements. Also, since 1991 the County has required automatic fire sprinklers in all new dwellings within wildland areas; with the fire districts this equates to over 90 percent of the unincorporated county. The requirement for automatic fire sprinklers coupled with the County's enhanced ignition resistive construction requirements mitigate longer travel times in the less dense areas. After assessing destroyed and saved homes within the 2007 burn areas, the County found that homes built using the County 2004 building codes, which include requirements for Class A roofing, dual glazed windows, interior sprinklers and strict outside venting, had a higher survival rate than homes built using older codes. - = . . . .

Emergency medical or life safety calls outnumber fire calls by three to one or at least 75% of calls for emergency assistance to Fire Fighters. County Response: The County agrees with this finding.

Higher than average response times reduce the ability of responding agencies to prevent loss of life and property. County Response: Generally, the County agrees with this finding. However, longer travel times occur in more rural areas where there is less density and population. As stated in our response to Finding #5, the requirement for automatic fire sprinklers and enhanced ignition resistive construction have been in place for several years to mitigate longer travel times in these less dense areas. In fact, after assessing destroyed and saved homes within the 2007 burn areas, the County found that homes built using the County 2004 building codes, which include requirements for Class roofing, dual glazed windows, interior sprinklers and strict outside venting, had a higher survival rate than homes built using older codes. Furthermore, the Board of Supervisor's action on June 25, 2008 (1) integrates career, reserve, and volunteer firefighters to ensure a blended response from multiple fire companies.

The staff of the Fire Prevention Unit in the Department of Planning and Land Use have sufficient expertise to serve as staff for a newly created fire agency. The County agrees with this finding and appreciates the County Response: acknowledgement.

The County of San Diego needs an understanding of the sheltering capacity of the local Red Cross during the first 48 hours of a major disaster. County Response: The County agrees with this finding.

Neither the County of San Diego nor any of the cities, including the City of San Diego, had a standard operating procedure for the operation of a mega-shelter. County Response: The County agrees with this finding.