Fire District Initiates Two Person Squad Pilot Program
September 5th, 2013At 8:00 am on Friday, September 6, 2013 the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District will initiate staffing of a two (2) person squad at Fire Station 1 in downtown Walnut Creek. The unit will primarily serve the communities of Walnut Creek and Lafayette. The staffing of this unit is a part of a 90 day pilot program to deploy two-person squads in various communities within the Fire District for response to certain emergency medical service (EMS) calls, allowing critical fire suppression resources to be available for fire responses. The squad will also provide additional capacity within the fire and EMS response system given current fiscal limitations and budget reductions. September and October are critical times of year for increased wildland fire activity in the Bay Area and the 90 day pilot period was chosen to provide additional capacity during this period of higher than normal fire activity where resources can be stretched to the limit.
The unit, referred to as “Squad 1”, will be equipped with advanced life support (ALS) equipment to support the paramedic assigned to the unit. Squad 1 will be a pickup-type vehicle capable of carrying the emergency medical equipment necessary to carry out the mission of the unit.
Squad 1 will be staffed by two firefighters, one of which will be a paramedic, and will primarily be responsible for handling lower-level EMS calls and providing support to fire engine and ladder truck companies at fire incidents in the squad’s response area.
The Fire District will monitor and evaluate the program during the 90 day pilot period for call volume, unit hour utilization and effectiveness, and response time data and performance, among other factors.