Contra Costa County Fire To Annex East Contra Costa Fire Protection District
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY (CBS SF) – Firefighting and EMS services in most of Contra Costa County will be under one agency, after a merger was approved earlier this week.
On Wednesday, the county's Local Area Formation Commission unanimously approved the consolidation of the Contra Costa Fire Protection District and the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District, following a decades long process.
Under the agreement, Contra Costa Fire will absorb the staff, facilities and equipment of East Contra Costa Fire, which serves Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay and several other smaller communities in the eastern part of the county.
Diane Burgis of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors touted the benefits, saying the merger along with funds from Measure X would double the number of stations serving East County residents and said additional stations would open as soon as this summer.
"This has rightly been characterized as a historic achievement, resolving service deficits that have plagued East County for decades," the supervisor said.
Brian Oftedal, East County's Board of Directors said the change would improve service times and fire apparatus will arrive with a paramedic on board. Oftedal said residents and businesses could eventually see savings on fire insurance bills due to improved ISO fire ratings, a score used by insurance companies to determine how prepared a community is for fire.
"Residents in East Contra Costa will now receive the services they deserve," he said.
Contra Costa County Fire currently serves 625,000 residents in 14 communities, while East Contra Costa Fire serves 128,000 residents.