Monday, December 01, 2008

By ROGER W. HOSKINS
BEE STAFF WRITER

last updated: March 14, 2008 03:29:33 AM

The Hughson Fire Protection District is "underfinanced, understaffed, undertrained and ... not able to provide an adequate level of service to the city of Hughson at this time," according to a report released this week.

The City Council commissioned the report last year after deteriorating relations with the fire district, sparked, in part, by the district's opposition to additional housing developments.

The highly critical analysis, released Wednesday and challenged by a fire official, scorched Hughson's volunteer department for its performance and planning. The district, which has two full-time employees and 23 volunteer firefighters, serves the city's 6,000 residents and about 5,000 who live near the city boundary.

It comes 18 months after a report looking at the county's 20 fire departments called Hughson's "barely serviceable." It stated that some of the county's departments should disband and others need to push for a countywide development fee for fire protection.

Among the specifics cited in Hughson's report:

Average response time was more than nine minutes for two straight years, well below national standards

The district spends less than half the per capita average on service than other county departments.

The department's firefighting methods and lack of records made it ineligible for federal grants.

There was very little training in hazardous spills or trench rescues.

"They have not planned for the future and are not meeting current laws, regulations and standards governing the delivery of emergency services or the management of employees and volunteers," the report concluded. "The district has stated in resolutions and letters to LAFCO that they cannot protect future development. In reality, they are not able to provide an adequate level of service to the city of Hughson at this time."

LAFCO is the Local Agency Formation Commission of Stanislaus County.

Fire consultant Anthony Fink, who prepared the report, used department and county records and national standards to support his conclusions.

Fire department defended

Fire district board member Doug Humphreys said it was outrageous to say the district was not providing adequate service and added that the city ignored some facts and manipulated others.

"People here call 911, and the fire department always shows up and mitigates whatever the problem is," he said.

He said it has been serving Hughson residents faithfully and well since 1915.

What the city or the district can do about finances or staffing remains to be seen, especially in a time of diminishing tax revenues. The City Council and the district board will review the findings Monday at 7 p.m. in the Senior Center next to the City Council chambers.

Mary Hemminger, management analyst for Hughson, said the report was "a beginning point" for addressing fire protection issues.

"We look forward to working very closely with the fire district to find solutions to deficiencies noted in the report," Hemminger said, "and to establish and appropriately define the level of service for the city of Hughson."

She said City Manager Joe Donabed had sent that same message to members of the fire board.

The problems the report pointed out are not unlike those experienced by other county departments, which was pointed out in the 2006 report commissioned by LAFCO.

Guideline of 6 minutes or less

Among the areas of greatest concern in Hughson's report were the department's failure to keep adequate records, its response times and inadequate training.

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