The Del Norte Fire Chief’s Association (DNFCA), in full solidarity, would like to officially respond, on record, in response to Del Norte Ambulance’s (DNA) request for an Exclusive Operating Agreement (EOA) through North Coast EMS Authority. After much consideration, the collective group cannot, and will not, support DNA’s request for an EOA in Del Norte County. We stand united in this position as we have placed the utmost priority on the needs of the communities that we so proudly serve. This group represents Klamath Fire Protection District, Fort Dick Fire Protection District, Smith River Volunteer Fire Protection District, Gasquet Volunteer Fire Protection District, and Crescent City Fire & Rescue.Regarding DNA’s request for EOA, we do not believe this to be in the community’s best interest. This EOA would give DNA sole operating rights as medical transportation provider in our county. Despite any other reasoning given, there is no benefit to our community in granting this request. As it stands, oversight of contractual obligation is minimally assessed or self-reported. In our day-to-day experiences responding with Del Norte Ambulance, we have long seen some firsthand inconsistenciesSome of these issues include the following: frequent extended ETA’s and lack of available ambulance coverage. With this, it is our professional and collective opinion that Del Norte Ambulance NOT be granted an EOA for Del Norte County. Although we stand as a unified team when responding to emergencies, we believe the community deserves a much more consistent service that not only meets community standards and contractual obligations, but also exceeds all public stakeholder expectations. Currently, as well as historically, these inconsistencies have not been resolved. As the group of Fire Chiefs that represent all the volunteer Fire Departments in the county, we emphatically recommend that there be no granting of an EOA to Del Norte Ambulance. We also recommend that there be an open opportunity for all ambulance companies to compete for the honor to serve in Del Norte County. In this option, Del Norte Ambulance would still have a chance to earn the contract with much higher expectations of service. Our community deserves the best possible medical transport services. The Del Norte Fire Chiefs humbly thank you for your time and consideration.#placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write(''); Sincerely,Lonnie Levi Fire ChiefKlamath Fire Protection Distri tRandy Crawford Fire ChiefFort Dick Fire Protection DistrictRon Simpson Fire ChiefSmith River Volunteer Fire Protection DistrictNick Karanopoulos Fire ChiefGasquet Volunteer Fire Protection DistrictKevin Carey Fire ChiefCrescent City Fire & Rescue googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });