Contra Costa County Fire Protection District

1. Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Fire and EMS Special Tax Workshop:

2. Who We Are • Lafayette • Walnut Creek • Pleasant Hill • Concord • Clayton • Martinez • El Sobrante • San Pablo • Pittsburg • Antioch • Bay Point • Pacheco • Unincorporated Areas Con Fire is your local fire department. We serve the communities of:

3. What We Do Con Fire is first to respond to: • Medical Emergencies • Structure Fires • Vehicle Accidents • Vegetation Fires • Other Emergencies

4. Other Community Risks • Refineries and Chemical Plants • Wildland/Vegetation Fires • Hazardous Materials (Pipelines, Rail, Highway) • BART and Passenger Railroad (Mass Casualty Incidents) • High-Rise Buildings, Industrial, Commercial/Malls, and Large Apartment Complexes • Airport • Interstate Highways • Ships and Water Rescue • Specialized Rescue – Confined Space, Trench, Swift Water • Earthquakes, Floods, Mudslides

5. What We Do • Fire Prevention: • Code Enforcement Inspections • Engineering – Plan Review/Approval • Fire System Testing • Vegetation Management/Enforcement • Life Safety Education for “at risk” (young children and mature adults) population • Smoke Detector Program • Maintain Fire Trails for Access/Fire Suppression • Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) • Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Program

6. Financial Outlook • The District’s revenue is primarily based (approximately 90%) on property tax assessments • This revenue has decreased by approximately $32 million dollars from 2008 to 2012 • Health care costs increased • Pension contributions increased due to de-pooling and market losses • Chevron payment of almost $1M • Diversion of $12M per year to RDAs

7. How Have We Reduced Expenditures? • Concessions by firefighters, administrators and staff (10% salary reduction, lower starting salaries, increased health care and pension contributions) • Furloughs for non-operational staff • Non-operational positions held vacant • Eliminated positions and laid off employees in 2010 • Controlled non-minimum staffing overtime • Deferred capital (fleet and facilities) purchases and repairs/improvements • Reduced operating costs and discretionary spending

8. How Have We Reduced Expenditures? • Leverage federal/state grant opportunities • Value engineer all functions • De-staffed unit in January 2011 and scheduled to de-staff a second unit in July 2012. Still maintaining service from all 28 local fire stations • IAFF Local-1230 has agreed to discuss a new pension tier in July 2012 • Exhausted reserve funds to maintain service levels

9. What Will Happen Without Additional Revenue? • Fire Stations – 8 to10 Closed • On-Duty Staffing – 30% Fewer Firefighters/Paramedics • Response Times – Critical Delays in Emergency Response • ISO Rating – 5? • Insurance Increases - $230 annually for a $250,000 home (GA study) Increase 4-11% (SC study)

10. Response Times Are Critical: • Goal: Arrive on the scene within 5-minutes 90 % of the time. • NFPA recommends a response time of 6-minutes 90% of the time. • NFPA requires an adequate firefighting force (16-personnel) on-scene within 8-minutes. • In 2009 with 30 fire companies, average response time was 8 minutes and 20 seconds.

11. Response Time is Critical - EMS • Clinical brain damage occurs in 4–6 minutes without oxygen. • Brain death occurs in 8- minutes. • Emphasis on STEMI and Stroke response to successfully intervene. • Fire-based paramedics are an integral part of the County EMS Plan.

12. Response Time is Critical - EMS • “Golden Hour” for Trauma Victims (from the time the accident occurs till the patient is in the operating room) • Choking • Difficulty Breathing • Anaphylactic Shock or Allergic Reaction

13. Response Time is Critical - Fires A standard time temperature curve indicates that structure fires double in size every 2-minutes.

14. Response Time is Critical - Fires • Structure fires reach “flashover” in less than 8-minutes. • Rapid fire growth to complete involvement. • So intense that victims will not survive. • Unchecked fires will extend to surrounding structures.

15. Response Time and Staffing Levels: Deployment Configuration Time to Rescue Victim

16. Industry Standards and Best Practices: • ICMA recommends 1-firefighter per 1,000 population or 600 personnel. Current staffing is 269. • NFPA recommends 4-person staffing per unit. The District currently has 3-person staffing. • NIST (structure fire) and San Diego State University (wildland fire) studies show that it takes 30% longer to complete critical tasks with 2-person staffing.

17. Performance Picture

18. Performance Picture With Stations Closed

19. Impact of Closures on Fire Incidents

20. Recommended Tax Measure: • Type – Parcel Tax • Methodology – Flat for residential properties and tiered per quarter acre of land area for commercial and industrial properties • Amounts Polled – $63 - $70 - $79 - $88 • Sunset Provision • Revenue Generated – $14.5M - $20.2M Annually • Senior Exemption • By law, all money generated must stay in the District to fund Fire and Emergency Medical Services

21. Criticality of Tax Measure With Parcel Tax Approval: • Revenue - $100-106M • Fire Stations – 28 • On-Duty Staffing – 89 fire fighters/paramedics per shift • Response Times – 6:31+ (travel time only) average. Achieve 5-minute goal 21% of time. • ISO Rating - 3 Without Parcel Tax Approval: • Revenue - $86M • Fire Stations – 8 to10 Closed • On-Duty Staffing – 30% Fewer Firefighters/Paramedics • Response Times – Critical Delays in Emergency Response • ISO Rating – 5? • Insurance Increases - $230 annually for a $250,000 home (GA study) Increase 4-11% (SC study)

22. Summary: • Sharply declining property tax revenue and increasing costs have created a “fiscal crisis.” • Numerous cost-cutting efforts have already been implemented. Reserve funds are exhausted. • Up to 8 fire stations could be closed in FY-13/14 and 10 in subsequent years. Service delivery will drop significantly. • Response times will increase dramatically. • Staffing will be inadequate to protect the community. • Fire insurance rates may be impacted. • A special tax measure is necessary to provide adequate fire and EMS protection and service.