User:Basealey/DeerSprings



The Deer Springs Fire Protection District is an autonomous Special District as defined under the Fire Protection District Law of 1987, California Health and Safety Code, Section 13800. The District’s service area encompasses approximately 999 sqmi, covering the communities of Hidden Meadows, Jesmond Dene, and surrounding areas all located in San Diego County.

The total population serviced by the District exceeds xx,xxx. On business days, the figure grows by another 23,000 to include the personnel employed in the Bishop Ranch Business Park, a 999 acre development located in San Ramon. Since its inception in 1984, the Bishop Ranch Business Park has evolved into a nationally recognized premier business center, housing over 330 companies, from established Global 500 companies to innovative start-ups. Two of the larger employers in Bishop Ranch are Chevron and AT&T.

The District contracts with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for fire protection service and augments the staff with approximately xx reserve firefighters. The District maintains three Fire Stations with the Administrative Offices located in one of the stations.

Within the boundaries of the District are wildland areas, single and multi-family residential units, hotels, numerous convalescent/assisted living facilities, equestrian areas, and hiking trails.

History
The Deer Springs Protection District is an outgrowth of many years of maturation. additional history...

Fire fighting and medical apparatus
The Deer Springs Fire Protection District’s fleet is made up of the following emergency vehicles/fire apparatus: ??? Type 1 engines, ??? wildland units (??? Type 3 engines and ??? Type 4 engines.) For rural responses, the District is equipped with:  ???? One 1,500 gallon all-wheel water tender (with 60 gallons of AFFF foam), one 2,800 gallon water tender with a 3,000 gallon porta-tank, one 2,500 gallon all-wheel-drive water tender, which carries Class A and AFFF foam with portable pumps and tanks.

The District’s Type 1 engines, Type 3 engines and all trucks carry Advanced Life Support (ALS) emergency medical equipment, including oxygen, defibrillator units and ALS medications. In addition, these vehicles are fully equipped to respond as needed to mitigate any emergency including fire, rescue, hazardous material spill or vehicle accident.

The District contract with ???? to provide one Rescue Medic (ALS Advanced Life Support) modular ambulance unit, equipped with Hurst tools and rope rescue equipment. The unit is equipped to meet the needs of paramedic service.

The District’s Breathing Support Unit is a multi-functional piece of equipment that can fill both high and low pressure air bottles, supplying six bottles at a time in fewer than two minutes with an air storage capacity capable of filling 100 bottles. The unit is also equipped with large pop-up scene lights, salvage equipment, medical supplies and other items, such as hot coffee, soups and beverages for the comfort of crews working on an extended incident.

Suppression
??? The District's Suppression personnel are divided into three platoons, A, B and C. Each platoon is commanded by a Battalion Chief who is responsible for the workings of his individual shift, communicating with the other shifts’ Battalion Chiefs to coordinate the continuity of ongoing projects and day-to-day operations. Battalion Chiefs work directly with the station Captains, who head the three or four member companies assigned to a station.

The District’s Suppression personnel include 1 Battalion Chief, ?? Captains, ?? Engineers, and ?? Firefighters (?? which are Paramedics). All Suppression personnel, are certified EMT-1A's and State Certified Firefighter I and II. The crew of every engine, truck, and ambulance includes a San Diego County accredited Paramedic.

EMS
?? The Deer Springs Fire Protection District provides the paramedic ambulance service to North San Diego County Emergency medical services Zone ?. Oversight and Coordination is provided by an Emergency Medical Services Coordinator and a Quality Assurance Registered Nurse. These two positions report to the Assistant Chief of Operations, to ensure the delivery of high quality, effective Emergency Medical Services.

?? The District is a participant in the San Diego County-wide automated EMS Records system. Using software provided by Toomay Technologies Inc., known as PCTS (Patient Care Tracking System). This program is designed to attempt to capture data on a patient from the time that a 911 call is initiated to the time they are released from the Hospital.

?? The delivery of exceptional EMS in a partially rural area often involves the utilization of ALS Helicopters. The District routinely uses these services to rapidly transport critical patients.

?? While there are numerous Helicopter services available, the primary services used are CALSTAR (California Shock/Trauma Air Rescue) based in Concord, Gilroy, Auburn, Salinas, Ukiah, Santa Maria, South Lake Tahoe, Jackson, and Vacaville, REACH Air Medical Services, located at the Buchanan Field Airport, and LIFEFLIGHT located at Stanford University Hospital in Palo Alto.

Rescue
Every engine and truck in the Fire District meets an OES Basic level and is equipped with ropes to augment rescue operations, cribbing, air bags, and cutting and prying tools. In addition to the above, a group of Rescue Division members are active with Oakland’s Urban Search and Rescue California Task Force 4. The Task Force is one of several in California, and is operated under Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security. This is a Federal Team, which responds to disasters on a National level.

The Rescue Team recently took delivery of a Spartan/SVI Rescue Unit. The vehicle is equipped to handle a variety of incidents ranging from confined space rescue, technically difficult auto extrication, swift water rescue, trench collapse rescue, structure collapse, high and low angle rope rescue, the Rescue Unit along with personnel will also respond to all fires within the District and act as the Rapid Intervention Crew.

Hazardous materials
?? The District's Hazardous Materials Team is equipped with two trucks and trailer to respond to incidents and is based at Station 35. The Haz-Mat Team is made up of 26 State Certified Hazardous Materials Technician/Specialists and that it is an all risks Haz-Mat team capable of specialized entry, chemical analysis and hazard mitigation.

Fire prevention
??Fire prevention activities are carried out by an 11-member staff, under the direction of a Battalion Chief/Fire Marshal who works closely with the cities and other utility providers to oversee all new construction, fire prevention inspections, water systems, fire investigations and weed abatement. Plans for new buildings are carefully reviewed by trained personnel to assure proper compliance with the fire and life safety requirements of the Fire and Building Codes.

??The District has enacted a comprehensive fire prevention ordinance which includes sprinkler requirements for most commercial buildings and certain residential buildings. This progressive approach has led to better fire and life safety protection, and reduced insurance costs.

Communications
??The Department's main communications is part of NORTHCOM, a regional consolidation of dispatching and mutual aid resources, providing 24-hour dispatching of District emergency apparatus 365 days per year.

?? The Communications Center is equipped with the latest advances in the emergency telecommunications systems. These systems include an Enhanced 9-1-1 System, utilizing Intelligent Workstations. This allows the location of the caller to be displayed on a computer screen for instant recognition by the fully integrated Computer Aided Dispatch System. The District uses an Intergraph Computer system, a highly sophisticated computer that incorporates an extensive mapping system of the District's response area along with the station response zones.

?? The Intergraph system allows the District to draw maps through a digitizing process in the computer, entering the necessary information firefighters need that is not provided by an ordinary street map. The information provided includes water main sizes, locations of underground gas lines, specific road hazards, i.e., weak bridges or narrow roadways that could hamper a fire engine's response, or the location of specific hazardous materials stored in a building.

?? Dispatchers handle both routine and emergency radio traffic over a Motorola Centracom Elite Gold radio console, communicating by radio or special phone lines with many local agencies, such as Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, Alameda County Fire, San Ramon Police Department and Danville Police Department, Mt. Diablo State Park Rangers, San Ramon Valley Unified School District, Chevron Security in Bishop Ranch, John Muir Medical Center, San Ramon Regional Medical Center, and AT&T Security.

?? The District recently added a 2003 Spartan Communications and Command ICS Type 1 Mobile Communications Support Unit. This vehicle is designed to perform the duties of a backup communications center, as well as provide on-scene communications and command for larger emergency incidents.

Volunteers
The District sponsors the Deer Springs Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), a group of trained volunteers to assist first responders during a large scale emergency.

Fire stations/apparatus
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