There are automatic and mutual assistance agreements between adjoining districts which insure help if one district needs outside assistance. No uniform agreement is in place as to what compensation the assisting district will receive.
There are different levels of training among districts. All fire districts have the minimum training required. Fire fighting in cities and in wildlands require different training.
Among the districts there is repetition in administration, salaries, insurance, training, and equipment. There is also duplication in service and repair of equipment.
Each fire district provides some level of medical service which accounts for 80% of all calls. All firefighters have some emergency medical training. Most firefighters in the county are volunteers.
The cooperation between agencies at the station level is good, but there are disagreements in upper management over reimbursements and responsibilities. Some fire districts and agencies do not want to lose their independence or share their resources.
No uniform method of funding exists for the different agencies. Some agencies only receive county funds while others receive voted property assessments or state funds. The incorporated cities receive General Fund money. Some districts or agencies are better funded than others.
Some of the fire chiefs indicated that a form of consolidation would be beneficial. There are limited efforts being made to consolidate purchasing of fuel, hoses and insurance for equipment.
An Amador County Fire Service Task Force has been formed. The Task Force is developing a master plan of short and long term goals for operational training, finances, inspection, fire prevention, and code enforcement.
There should be expanded efforts to consolidate training and centralize purchasing of insurance and equipment such as fuel, hoses, and clothing.
If more consolidation occurred, additional full-time employees would have to be hired.
Develop a master plan to consolidate the fire districts to form one well-trained and organized Amador County Fire Protection District.
Implement a plan to share revenue and costs between the fire districts.