HomeMy WebLinkAbout1983-04-12; City Council; 7357; Fire Protection for County IslandsZ
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CITY T CARLSBAD -- AGENDi"')ILL
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ASk----! J `� -� 11I.1 i FIRE PROTECTION FOR COUNTY ISLANDS DE. PT. HD.
MTG. 4 12/83 CITY ATTY, 26
DEPT. F I It CITY MGR.`
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
This item is for Council information. No action required.
ITEM EXPLA14ATION:
In January 1983, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors acted to disband the
County Fire Services Organization. The net effect of this action, as far as
Carlsbad is concerned, was to create a situation whereby unincorporated islands
within the Carlsbad city boundaries receive no fire protection from the county.
Prior to the Board's action, when a County Fire Protection Organization did
exist, the policy of the Carlsbad Fire Department was to respond to a reported
fire and begin suppression actions. If it was determined to be in county area,
County Fire Services was notified. They would then dispatch the closest
County Volunteer Fire Department to the fire. We would work on a mutual aid
basis with the volunteers.
Since there is no County Fire Services Organization and the volunteer departments
are only responsible for their own districts (i.e., Elfin Forest), it is
impossible to have a mutual aid situation. Our current policy is to continue
to respond to fires in the unincorporated area and to take actions necessary to
suppress the fire. In addition to the wildland, there are 'approximately 50
structures varying in type from residential to packing shed's affected by this
policy.
Alternatives to our existing policy are:
I. Take only those actions necessary to prevent a fire from spreading into the
unincorporated area. The main problem we would encounter with this policy
is trying to determine exactly where the city/county boundaries actually
are.
2. Provide fire protection on a contract basis. This would be a voluntary
program on the part of the property owners. If they chose not to contract
we would be faced with the same situations as described in alternative no. 1.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The cost of providing fire protection to the structures in the County islands
is negligible. We have experienced few structural fires, within these areas.
Our manpower and equipment levels are unaffected. While we have experienced
numerous costly wildland fires recently, it is necessary to continue to fight
these fires in order to protect structures and land within the city limits.
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