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Contra Costa County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
Smart Voter

Where is Emergency Service Going?

By William "Bill" Prather

Candidate for Director; Rodeo-Hercules Fire Protection District

This information is provided by the candidate
The current "Doctrine of Response" needs to be updated to fit our current needs for emergency service. We now respond to 85%-90% medical or service calls, not fire. This requires a rethink of our response, type of apparatus and how to provide the proper staffing to become more efficient!
I worked at a time when 98% of the calls were for fire! There were more fires due to more smokers, poor construction, no smoke detectors & no cell phones for early reporting of fire. Manpower was plentiful as the "job" was a blue collar job with OK but not top pay as today. The response of 3 Engines and 1 Truck company usually provided 15 firefighters arriving on scene. Today with manpower cuts it takes a 5 Engine response to get that number of personnel at the scene of an emergency. This response completely empties a large area of any medical or service aid. This needs to be addressed and rectified! Today we have people making decisions that will affect us for many years into the future and the Directors are not always given the facts or the truth about what is really needed! A complete revamp of our response needs to be made with emphasis on a smaller "Attack-Rescue" that could take care of 98% of our oaut the dooor calls. This can be staffed with two Paramedics. The main back up for structure fires would be a squad of 4 top trained Firefighters. Having ample trained personnel at the scene of any emergency is critical! Change is needed!

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