By Samuel Strait, Reporter at Large – May 9, 2021 In the course of the past week much was learned about what occupies nearly all current fire districts, dwindling resources, both material and financial, diminishing numbers of volunteer firefighters, additional burdens of regulation, and a distinct change in what is meant for fire districts to be responsible for when the fire alarm rings. It almost can be said that the moniker above the firehouse door should now be changed to read "Medical Emergencies, Incident Reports, and an Occasional Response to Fire District." Long gone are the days where most calls to the firehouse were related to a burning building or fire. Fully 85% plus of all calls to fire districts nation wide are other than fire related incidents, and our local fire district reporting matches or exceeds that figure. These numbers range from near 85% at the Crescent Fire Protection District to near 95% in the Klamath's Fire Protection District. This is not something that has recently appeared at firehouses nation wide, but recognition of this new kind of role for firehouses became noticeable all the way back in 1973 when financial resources for fire departments were being outstripped by yearly budget increases. Many departments and fire districts have not been able to adjust their programs to accommodate this new reality and here locally, despite admitting that this is a reality, have had great difficulty making the complete transition from traditional firehouses with large inventories of fire engines to the new reality of multiple and less costly RRVs (Rapid Response Vehicles) which are less costly and more effective in assisting the public where less is better. Traditional fire engines fully equipped can range in cost from $850,000 to well over a million dollars. RRV's (the smaller versions) on the other hand can find a fire department laying out from $150,000 to a mere $50,000, with fully equipped engine sized model at $300,000. Having multiple RRV's scattered at the County's thirteen fire stations and reserving larger fire equipment at strategically located stations would dramatically reduce costs, reduce maintenance on district fire engines, and reduce the number of crew required to travel to non fire related incidents where the larger engines are not necessary. A number of fire districts and departments have elected to travel this path and report significant savings, the reduced need for top heavy personnel (able to eliminate many Asst Chiefs, Fire Captains, Battalion Chiefs and other high dollar employees), lower maintenance on fire engines, and a more appropriate level of service at incident responses. To a certain degree our local fire districts already for the most part have this capability, but do not appear to be utilizing it to its full potential. Asking fire district parcel owners to support employing three fire captains who would likely be underutilized and costly to the district, talking about new fire engines, and an expanded fire fighting cadre of volunteers seems to be taking steps back to the traditional role of a fire department rather than the new reality of substantially higher call incident of non fire related emergencies. This has led to the unsupported call for new parcel assessments to encumber parcel owners in the fire protection district, for which also is a failing many tax supported agencies resort to when much more responsible alternatives are available. This call for fire departments to be more responsive to the nature of their changing role has met considerable resistance by many in the fire fighters community and led to the continuation of over the top response to most incidents which clearly are unnecessary and have become cost prohibitive. It has become ingrained in both the public and fire fighting communities that fire protection is absolutely essential, but that needs to change with the new reality of what a fire district is called on to accomplish. Clearly the majority of calls are Medical in nature with fire coming well down the list. Rapid response is important, it just should be the right kind of response. Indisputably this has not been Crescent Fire Protection District's main priority. Along with this new direction of the fire district should be a focus on dispatch at the Del Norte County Sheriff's Department where new methods of operation at this vital point of an emerging crisis are able to communicate the exact nature of a call and direct an appropriate level of response with the precise level of personnel to the scene. More on this in a future article soon to appear in the pages of the Crescent City Times your source for important community information.