Windsor CA – The Windsor Fire Protection District responded to a record-high 175 calls in May, up from 153 a year ago, and up 68 percent from five years ago. “It’s scary,” commented Chief Ron Collier, “For the past few years, our average calls per day has remained steady. As of May 31, we’ve experienced about a 12 percent increase. And we still have only two firefighters on duty.”

Fire officials fear a tragedy is inevitable if call levels continue to rise at this rate. “Frankly, we just do not have the staff to safely handle this many calls,” Collier continued. “The citizens’ safety is threatened, and our firefighters’ safety is threatened.”

Recent incidents give credence to their concerns. In April, the Windsor engine company was fighting a structure fire on Aviation Boulevard when they received the report of a car fire in front of McDonald’s on Old Redwood Highway. Only the fire chief and the battalion chief were available in Windsor. Although each has fire extinguishers in his truck, the fire was too big by the time they got there. They had to stand by the burning car, waiting for an engine from Healdsburg to arrive and put the fire out. “We were lucky that day,” Collier said. “It was only a car on fire. It could have been a house with someone trapped inside, and we would have had to stand there, doing nothing, for 5 to 10 minutes.”

On June 1 Windsor units, along with units from Rincon Valley, Forestville, and Healdsburg, were dispatched to a brush fire in the creek behind Safeway on Brooks Road South, threatening the Chancellor Place assisted living facility. Neither Forestville nor Rincon Valley was able to respond.

The Windsor two-person engine company, assisted by one engine from Healdsburg and the Windsor fire chief, was tied up for 90 minutes getting the fire out. During this time, Windsor Battalion Chief Matt Gustafson scrambled to find someone to provide fire department coverage for the District, calling first for Windsor volunteers, then an engine from Forestville, then for an engine from Rincon Valley. Finally, after 40 minutes, a Rincon Valley engine was able to provide the needed assistance. “We dodged the bullet one more time,” Gustafson said. “Wonder how many more times we’ll be that lucky.”

On a recent Sunday evening, the firefighters were able to reach a heart attack victim in two minutes and had a “save”: the person was revived using the department’s automated external defibrillator (AED) and sent to the hospital. However, one of the on-duty firefighters had to accompany the patient in the ambulance, leaving only one person on duty. Had there been another heart attack in Windsor (or a car wreck or a fire), the victim would have been waiting for either a Windsor volunteer to respond or for an engine from Larkfield or Healdsburg or Forestville.

There is no question that prompt response saves lives and property. Victims of sudden cardiac arrest who receive defibrillation treatment within the first two minutes have a 90 percent survival rate; after 10 minutes, the rate drops to less than 5 percent. A fire doubles in size every minute and reaches “flashover” (at which point nothing can be saved) in 7 minutes.

Windsor Fire officials declared staffing the number one priority when seeking an increase in the District’s special tax amount last year. The measure was defeated, receiving the majority vote but failing to meet the 2/3 requirement.

WFPD Board President Pat McDowell says the District is scrutinizing its budget, hoping to avoid staffing reductions. “We’ve already notified staff there will be no pay increases this year, and staff is being required to pay a portion of its health benefits, which effectively is a cut in pay.” Like all employers, WFPD has faced staggering workers comp and health insurance premium increases in the past two years. “Workers comp alone went up 87 percent. Not many people realize that we’re required to provide worker’s comp coverage for each of our volunteers, so although we only have 9.5 full-time employees (FTEs), we have to pay for workers comp for 40 people.”

“We are doing everything we can,” McDowell continued, “to provide the service the people expect. At a time when we have a pressing need to add to our staff, we are faced with stark fiscal realities. If our income stays the same (or decreases) and our expenses continue to rise, hard choices will have to be made.”

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Contact: Ron Collier
Office: 707/838-1170
FAX: 707/838-1173
E-mail: rcollier@windsorfpd.com

NOTE: Photographs are copyrighted by Windsor Fire Protection District and can only be used with permission.
 

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