by Chris Gralapp

David Poe, resident of Summit View Ranch who helps coordinate the Summit View Firewise Certification program, and I recently visited the Bennett Valley Fire Station to learn about the workings of the department, and how they operate on a day-to-day basis.  We met with Cyndi Foreman, Division Chief and Fire Marshal, as well as the guys on duty that day: Neil Nicholson, captain; Josh Menzies, Firefighter / Paramedic, and Tony Gomez, Engineer. Crew members rotate around the county as needed, to make sure all of the 11 Sonoma County Fire Stations are fully staffed at any given time. The three that were there that day were replacements from other stations in the District because the regular staff were already called down to fight the Pacific Palisades fire.  While we were there, one of the fire fighters was anticipating that he would be called to LA to address the massive fire storms as well.

Fire crews work on 48-hour shifts, and each team member has distinct responsibilities. The BV Firehouse has three rigs—the Type 1 engine, which is the big boy with a full array of fire fighting and medical response equipment, a Type 3 wildland engine for rural work, and a big water tender which carries 3000 gallons for rural response calls in places that have no hydrants. They also employ a 4-wheel drive pickup truck with medical response equipment and a stretcher for medical evacuations (many of which occur in Annadel State Park).

Division Chief Cyndi Foreman gave us a comprehensive overview of the Firewise program from the perspective of the agencies, and encourages the neighborhoods to investigate this program to help increase fire prevention in this era of climate change.

When a new shift crew comes on at 08:00 hours, the exchange and hand-off processes assure that information about calls and conditions are passed on to the new crew. Maintenance is paramount--every day the inspection checklist is ticked off, and all gear and systems are checked. Medical bags are resupplied, and the technical equipment (and there is plenty of it!) is recalibrated. Each crew ‘owns’ the equipment in their care during their shift.

There is never much down time, as the crews are constantly training. Procedures for their many duties must be second nature for firefighters, and they practice constantly. For instance, training maneuvers are conducted up on Summit View Ranch, such as off-road driving, accessing water resources, ladder work, and other rural response activities. Physical conditioning is important as well, and there is a mini-gym tucked in a corner.

Of course, fire response is the first responsibility, and fortunately there are relatively few fires in Bennett Valley to address. Summer sees more fires, results of power lines down, turkeys on the lines, and lawn / weed mowers throwing sparks in dry grass. But about 80% of the calls they receive are for medical situations, and it is encouraging to know that every crew member has EMT training, and that every crew has a trained Paramedic. All three crew members go out on every call, and the fire guys are almost always the first responders in medical calls.

One of the most prevalent calls is for car wrecks on Bennett Valley Road. Tony Menzies, the Engineer, showed us the ‘jaws of life’ equipment that is used for extricating people from crashed cars. It happens all too often: there was a fatal single-car accident on BV Road just a couple of weeks ago, to which the crew responded.

Annadel State Park is in the BV crew’s territory, as well—bee-stings in allergic individuals, bicyclists down, all manner of problems are handled efficiently by our BV Fire Fighters. These dedicated public servants deserve a lot of credit for their commitment to our well-being.