ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECTS:
Fire Protection and Law Enforcement Management
and Operations Analysis
Evaluate community safety services needs and experience and existing fire protection and law enforcement capabilities, develop standards and management and staffing patterns, perform reorganization and consolidation studies, and support community services planning that leads to improved and cost-effective delivery systems, capital facilities, and staffing levels.

Town of Colma and Colma Fire Protection District
ROA conducted an evaluation/feasibility study of the Town’s fire protection and EMS needs and the District’s capabilities of meeting those needs in a cost effective and timely manner. Consideration was given to restructuring EMS services to help maintain a volunteer fire department that will continue to meet the community’s service needs.

Fire Protection District Consolidation Process
ROA facilitated the planning needed to consolidate two fire protection districts: Half Moon Bay and Point Montara, California. Working with a joint Consolidation Committee and the County’s Local Agency Formation Commission, ROA gathered data, prepared necessary service planning, financial, and organizational documents, and worked with the parties to achieve full consolidation within California state law.

Sun City Tehama Fire Protection and Sheriff Services Plan
ROA recently completed the public safety portion of the proposed residential and commercial development, which will be constructed in a rural area with very low fire and law enforcement services. Given about 3,500 dwellings with an estimated population of about 7,000, ROA recommended that two and eventually four sheriff’s deputies be added and that a fully staffed fire engine company and ambulance services be located on the site.

City of Hemet Fire Station Location Study
ROA thoroughly reviewed the Fire Department’s capabilities and response history and analyzed development trends and demographic factors as a basis for recommending future fire station locations and service levels. ROA developed a travel time-distance model to help determine optimum locations that would meet the City’s criteria. Based on expected population growth, the plan also recommended when new stations should be built.

City of Wheatland Fire Protection and Law Enforcement Master Plan
ROA provided public safety services planning support as part of the city’s general plan update process. With the population projected to increase in the next 10-20 years from about 3,000 to 20,000, ROA analyzed current capabilities and provided a growth-linked master plan to provide the city with effective fire protection and law enforcement services. The plan addressed staffing, equipment, facilities, training, and related factors, including providing cost estimates.

Foskett Ranch (Meritage Homes) Wildland Fire Protection Plan
ROA, working the developer and the City of Lincoln, prepared a wildland and open space fire protection/fuels management plan. The report, a condition of development, recommended structural, vegetation, maintenance and other provisions to limit the fire threat in this new development of about 250 homes.

Viejas Indian Reservation Fire Protection and Emergency Medical Services
ROA provided technical support and analyses to help the Viejas Tribal Council choose a new fire protection/EMS provider. The Council will be able to decide at the end of three years to continue the contract relationship or to set up its own fire department. We worked closely with the Council and tribal members to review their needs and current arrangements, prepare an RFP for a full range of services, evaluate the responses from and interview representatives of five nearby agencies, and negotiate a contract with the preferred provider to serve Viejas’ residents and the casino’s and retail outlet’s staff and customers.

Santa Cruz County Fire Department Master Plan
ROA’s team completed a new Master Plan to replace the department’s 1990 master plan. The work involved reviewing levels of service, paid staff-volunteer relationships, apparatus replacement, financing, departmental management, and other issues. The County Fire Department is managed under contract with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF).

City of Lincoln Fire Protection Study
The small community of Lincoln is growing from about 8,200 to 60,000 residents by 2015. Planning for such growth required careful consideration be given to Lincoln’s fire protection and emergency medical services needs. ROA’s team approached this two phase study by recommending fire protection services for a new 5,700 acre residential and commercial development and for the community as a whole. Our final report addressed issues related to management, organization, compensation, capital and operating costs, fire prevention, emergency medical services, water supplies, communications, training, maintenance, and station locations. The city is implementing the 1998 plan, and RAO provided the City with a wildland fuel management plan for about 1250 acres of open space within a major new development.

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