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Extracted from Consolidated Report
This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.
El Dorado County Grand Jury
• 2019-2020
EST Lope F P U IRE Rotection Pdate
⚠️ 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 6 findings
F1
Long term fiscal sustainability of fire protection on the West Slope of the County is highly questionable.
F2
County citizens on the West Slope experience a wide disparity in fire protection services often masked by Automatic Aid, based on their location and their specific fire district.
F3
Efforts to improve fire protection on the West Slope of the County have been ongoing for many years with limited success.
F4
Cal Fire has the infrastructure, staffing and expertise to be a major component of a solution to the County’s fire district disparities.
F5
Improvements in the existing fire protection model for the West Slope requires all fire protection districts to take a holistic view of fire protection and the political will to embrace change.
F6
Fire protection districts on the West Slope have not displayed the ability to take a holistic view of fire protection or the political will to embrace change, to the determent of all County citizens.
Recommendations 1
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R1Fire Protection Districts, Cal Fire, BOS and LAFCO should continue discussing ways to improve County fire protection services. West Slope Fire Protection Update 6/8/2020
Conclusions 1
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CL1El Dorado County is suffering from the legacy of many fire districts, locally created at a time when there was no other option. Some of the districts go back more than 100 years. There is strong loyalty to a local home district at the expense of the County as a whole. The citizens of the more rural districts take pride in their independence and isolation from the masses. Living in remote areas comes with the understanding that fire protection service will be only as good as limited revenue can provide. Districts with higher revenue provide a higher level of service and enjoy large financial reserves that insure the level of service and contingencies. Some question the fairness of asking those districts to share their revenues with other districts. Yet, it should be obvious that the level of service now enjoyed in the more rural districts is indirectly subsidized by the wealthier districts through the tenuous Automatic Aid program. The County Sheriff’s Department is a single entity that provides service in every unincorporated part of the County, including remote rural areas along with dense suburban neighborhoods. The consistent high level of service and professionalism we see from the Sheriff’s Department is in striking contrast to the many existing fire protection districts, and also a striking example of what a unified County fire protection agency could look like. The men and women firefighters in our County are true professionals that we are proud of. Given a unified County fire agency, the firefighters could receive the support, safety and consistency they deserve. 6/8/2020 West Slope Fire Protection Update 5 El Dorado County 2019-2020 Grand Jury