TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Brian Ham, Division County Fire Chief
REPORT BY: Shana A. Bagley, Interim Fire Administrator
SUBJECT: Automatic Aid Fire Service Agreement with Calistoga Fire Department
RECOMMENDATION
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Approve and authorize Agreement No. 8715 with the City of Calistoga through the Calistoga Fire Department for the term through June 30, 2031, to ensure an organized response of resources to structure fires and vegetation fires within the agreed automatic aid areas. (No Fiscal Impact; Discretionary)
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BACKGROUND
The City of Calistoga and Napa County have had a long standing agreement for first responder services. The most recent was Napa County Agreement No. 250257B, which expired on June 30, 2026, following Napa County’s notice of non-renewal. In place of the former agreement, the City of Calistoga and Napa County desire to provide each other with a reasonable and reciprocal exchange of automatic aid to support the most expeditious initial emergency response within the agreed automatic aid areas and pursuant to the response plans set forth in an automatic aid agreement. This Automatic Aid Agreement reflects the agencies that currently have jurisdictional authority (Calistoga Fire Department /Napa County Fire Department) while updating the appropriate resources responding to specific response types. Neither party shall owe compensation to the other party for routine automatic mutual aid provided under the Automatic Aid Agreement.
The Automatic Aid Agreement provides a foundation for a cooperative effort between fire agencies to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of fire operations. It ensures that when an emergency call occurs, the closest available resources are dispatched automatically, regardless of jurisdictional lines. The shared mission for this effort is to improve public safety and emergency preparedness by pooling resources and expertise among participating fire departments. These types of agreements have several key benefits with enhanced response time, resource sharing, and improved coordination amongst agencies which prove to be cost effective.
It is the intent of cooperating jurisdictions to move forward with the agreement that allows employees from all jurisdictions the ability to work together across jurisdictional boundaries and maximize overall service levels.
Requested Action:
Approve and authorize Agreement No. 8715 with the City of Calistoga, for the term through June 30, 2031, to ensure an organized response of resources to structure fires and vegetation fires within the Parties’ agreed automatic aid areas.
FISCAL IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
No |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
It allows the parties to jointly exercise their common powers within their own or each other’s geographic jurisdictions. |
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Consequences if not approved: |
It will limit the benefits of fire resource sharing and collaboration for the purposes of enhancing fire protection. |
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Additional Information |
County Strategic Initiative: Integrity & Collaboration |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by California Code of Regulations, title 14, section 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and, therefore, CEQA is not applicable.