FDAC Report February 2022

FDAC F I R E D I S T R I C T S A S S O C I AT I O N O F C A L I F O R N I A

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2022 BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Jim Comisky 1st Vice President Frank Frievalt 2nd Vice President Eric Walder Treasurer Richard Pearce FDAC STAFF Catherine Smith, Executive Director Carmen Berry, Deputy Executive Director Melissa Feltz, Coordinator Dani Dejeu, Assistant Derrick Bouchard, Graphic Designer PHOTOGRAPHY Pexels, Pixabay, Shutterstock and Unsplash The purpose of this Association shall be: 1) to present a united position on fire protection issues; 2) to coordinate with other associations with similar views on fire protection, including legislation; 3) to provide advisory services and any other services deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors that may benefit member agencies; 4) to keep member agencies informed on laws relating to fire suppression, emergency medical and other related services provided by member agencies; 5) to take an active role in the legislative process affecting public agencies providing fire suppression, emergency medical and related services.

Thank you to all the authors in this issue for sharing with you their time and expertise. If you have an idea for a future article, please contact Carmen Berry at the FDAC office at cberry@fdac.org.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FDAC. For more information on FDAC or this magazine, please contact the FDAC office at 916.231.2137 or visit the website at www.fdac.org.

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Fire Agencies Insurance Risk Authority Susan Blankenburg, General Manager 1255 Battery Street, Suite 450 San Francisco, ca 94111 Office 415.536.4005 Toll Free 855.350-7617

 Lowest Stable Premiums Available  Exclusively Fire & Emergency Service Agencies  Broadest Insurance Coverage Available  Risk Management Assistance In 1987, one of the largest insurers of California Fire Districts informed the fire industry that they would not be renewing their insurance. FAIRA's first year of operation resulted in an immediate premium reduction of 30%, and that was just the start! Since then we’ve continued to see favorable outcomes for our members including a combined additional savings of over 10% in the past 7 years alone. Not only did we create a solution that guaranteed continuous coverage and reduced premiums, FAIRA is the largest and only multi-state Fire District pool in the United States and has saved millions of dollars.

After a long and difficult fire season for us all, the FDAC Team is happy to announce our 2022 Annual Conference will be IN-PERSON at the Napa Marriott! Join us for our largest program ever held; a three-day event with jam-packed sessions containing all the information you will need regarding Recruitment Retention, Work Force Stress, Grant Funding Usage, the effects COVID has created to the Fire Academy and so much more!

Stay tuned for the Keynote Speaker announcement!

Located in Napa, CA the Marriott Hotel is surrounded by legendary Napa wineries for you to sit back, relax and enjoy the sun with the beautiful view of the Northern California Valley. With just a 10-minute drive you can experience the Napa Valley from above with an unforgettable hot air balloon ride that will sweep you off your feet with Balloons Above the Valley.

REGISTER TODAY! Reserve your room now!

Napa Marriott Hotel April 5 – 8, 2022 3425 Solano Ave. Napa, CA 94558

BOOK YOUR ROOM

Our members pay less in premium than they did in 1988 for exposures that have quadrupled. We provide our members with risk management and loss control services including contract review, live & online training and we provide insurance rates that lead the marketplace when it comes to coverage terms and pricing for Property, Vehicle & Liability coverage for Fire Districts and Emergency Service Agencies.

www.faira.org

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y

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ello 2022, and a good day to you my fellow FDAC members.

Jim Comisky, South Lake County Fire Protection District

On behalf of the FDAC Board of Directors and staff, we hope you enjoy the first quarterly newsletter of 2022!

As we look in the rearview mirror, I think we all feel that 2021 was one of the most challenging years we have had to endure. Yet we stood up, made it work, and made it better. The California Fire Service always does.

I never imagined that fire personnel would be working in hospital emergency rooms for weeks on end, or doing community inoculations, or testing citizens for COVID. Yet we did. We supported County Health Departments with Overhead Management Teams because that’s what we do, and we are darn good at it! Then you throw in an epic fire season, I say goodbye 2021.

Our members have been busy these past few months. First Vice President Frank Frievalt is very involved with the Western Fire Chiefs. He has been working with them and the insurance industry to help find solutions to California’s Urban Interface problem.

Thank you Chief Frievalt!

FDAC/Cal Chiefs Legislative Task Force, led this year by FDAC’s Chief Jeff Willis of Big Bear, is busy at work

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as the final year of the two-year session kicks off. There is a lot of activity and I am sure we will be hearing more about that from Chief Willis and our advocates at PPA. The Conference and Training Committee has been busy putting the final touches on this year’s in person Annual Conference in Napa, April 5-8. I cannot wait to see all of you there! This is going to be the first time in several years for us to be together, so please plan to attend.

We encourage our member districts to bring professional staff and government officials!

With regards to health and safety, we all know that COVID just is not going away. Many of our agencies have been hit very hard with employees out.

The issue of mandatory vaccinations isn’t going away either. FDAC will not be taking a stance on this issue.

We will be facilitating the exchange of information and resources to our members if a district is put in a position to take action, they will be able to do so with all of the current information. We have a “Lunch & Learn” scheduled on February 1, 2022 on COVID and the recent Omicron surge.

Chapter 13 and State EMSA issues are at a standstill. FDAC is working with Cal Chiefs on developing a White Paper on the current state of affairs in regards to private ambulance service in the state. Many regions are seeing 30-40-minute response times to get an ambulance on scene. Long wait times at hospitals add to the issue. Some agencies in the Los Angeles area have authorized engine and truck companies to transport patients because of extended ambulance response times, and people are driving family members as well for the same reason. I share this because in the near future the Fire Service Leadership group will have a meeting with Governor Newsom and ambulance transport is a priority for us during that discussion. We will also be talking about challenges facing local government fire services. The Governor’s proposed FY 22-23 budget has a lot of money in it for the wildland fire issues. Local governments deserve funds to assist them to provide services to our shared constituents.

Neither the State nor the local governments can do it alone.

In closing I would ask you to take advantage of this relatively slow time of the year to recharge your batteries, make sure your people do the same. Physical health and mental health must be a priority for all of us.

We are only here for so long, so let’s make the best of that time.

Be well, be safe.

Chief Jim Comisky President FDAC South Lake County Fire Protection District

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Fire Districts Association of California F D A C Z O N E 2 R E P O R T

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appy New Year to all from FDAC Zone 2 director Jeffery Gilbert.

As we move into 2022 the fire service is still facing many challenges.

COVID 19 continues to challenge all of us with staffing levels and the recruiting of volunteers. The fires of 2021 are over, but departments are still dealing with pay documents and one of the biggest challenges, Mental Health.

Jeffery A. Gilbert

Fire Chief, FDAC Zone 2 Director

The Williams Fire Protection Authority broke ground on a new station to service the residence and commercial area on the east side of Interstate 5. As we have only begun the ground work the big challenge is to secure the funding for the actual station. The cost of materials has become almost cost prohibited to build at the current time.

As a new director for FDAC I am committed to reach out to non-member agencies and share all that FDAC has to offer in hopes of getting new members. I have partnered with my other Zone 2 director Kyle Heggstrom to split Zone 2. Kyle will take the south eastern area and I will take the North western area. Please feel free to contact either of us regarding fire related issues.

FDAC has done an amazing job politically over the last several years working on securing DRISC funding and now Special District funding for COVID Relief.

In ending this report I just want to say that you can only make a difference in the fire service by getting involved. Please consider joining FDAC to see the benefit.

Jeffery A. Gilbert Fire Chief Zone 2 Director

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U P D A T E

CAL FIRE FIRE PREVENTION GRANTS FDAC would like to share the following information regarding applying for the CAL FIRE Fire Prevention Grants.

The deadline to submit applications is February 9, 2022.

Please visit the websites below for all the details on how to apply.

CAL FIRE Fire Prevention Grants Program online workshop posted online CAL FIRE’s online workshop for the 20212022 Fire Prevention Grant Program funded by the California Climate Investments (CCI) initiative is now live.

The recorded version of the presentation is posted on the Fire Prevention web page.

Grant Guidelines: Guidelines are be posted to the Fire Prevention Grant webpage.

Sacramento Contact Grants Management Unit Fire Prevention Grants Northern Region Contact CNRgrants@fire.ca.gov Southern Region Contact SouthernRegionGrants@fire.ca.gov

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Fire Districts Association of California L E A D E R S H I P

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eadership Through Moments of Opportunity Our fire service leaders are challenged on a daily basis, to be successful in a multitude of tasks. Often times, this happens when an individual is promoted or placed into a position requiring strong leadership without even the basics of preparation.

Questions to Ponder:

Steve M. Kovacs FDAC Immediate Past President

1. Does your fire district have a formalized Leadership Development Program for your Company and Chief Officers? If no, what is holding the agency back from starting one?

2. Have you ever thought how much more productive and/or professional your fire district could benefit from a shift in Culture with strong leadership at all levels in the organization?

3. Do you have personnel in your fire district that you wish would just retire or take a job somewhere else? Are they holding the organization back?

Moving forward in any organization is accomplished through moments of opportunity. Sometimes you can make those opportunities happen (Question #1) and sometimes they happen on their own (Question 3). Those moments are simply that, moments. Moments do not last long, and once gone, will never be back. Opportunities happen in our organizations more often than we sometimes recognize.

Maybe a new majority gets elected to the Board, a retirement, promotions, new strategic plan, resignation, reorganization, consolidation, etc. The list is endless.

Are you ready for those opportunities when they arise? Is your Shopping Bag of Change full to the point of overflowing, with ready to implement programs and

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tasks that take your fire district to the next level of cultural change? If the shopping bag doesn’t exist, that moment of opportunity will have been lost forever. As Fire Chiefs, we must constantly be laying the groundwork to take the organization in a positive direction. Changing the culture of the agency through confident leadership and support from the top is a key element of this process.

Continue to set up your personnel for success, lay the groundwork for the future, fill your shopping bag and do your best to not let those moments slip by without making them count. As we all know, one of those leaders that you influence, may someday, be sitting in your seat.

2022 A N N UA L C O N F E R E N C E SPONSORSHIPS

FDAC ANNUAL SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES November 1, 2021 – October 31, 2022 What is an Annual Sponsorship?

FDAC truly values its sponsors and wants to ensure your company is finding ways to gain exposure and keep in touch with current and prospective clients yearround. FDAC Annual Sponsorships cover a year’s worth of advertising, virtual and in-person events and publications. When you register as an Annual Sponsor, your company and FDAC work hand-in-hand for the entirety of your sponsorship window.

FDAC staff member Melissa Feltz is available to answer any of your sponsorship questions; please contact staff@fdac.org.

Head on over to our FDAC Sponsorship Registration webpage and select from the Annual Sponsorship Level of your choice from the dropdown menu. Every Sponsorship level includes a booth at the 2022 Annual Conference, but be sure check out the add on items available for the conference as well as the October Leadership Symposium options available!

All Annual Sponsorship Opportunities Include: One complimentary 6-ft exhibit display table, recognition on signage at the 2022 FDAC Annual Conference, listing in the sponsor/exhibitor section of the FDAC Annual Conference Attendee Roster; one year display on the FDAC website preferred vendor list and sponsor ribbons for your staff’s name badges.

LEARN MORE REGISTER AS A SPONSOR TODAY

FDAC

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Fire Districts Association of California F D A C Z O N E 4 R E P O R T

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ire Services of San Mateo County Establishing a Cooperative Model

San Mateo County Model In San Mateo County, all dispatch, OEM, EMS, services are coordinated by the San Mateo County (SMC) Office of Emergency Management Division that is identified under the control and authority of the SMC County Manager.

Robert Silano Director: Menlo Park Fire Protection District

EMS transportation is handled by American Medical Response (AMR) on a contractual basis with a membership as a JPA, represented by the communities within the county. The cities of South San Francisco Fire and Woodside Fire also have transportation capabilities. Woodside Fire utilizes AMR vehicles for their transportation responsibilities.

Special Districts within San Mateo County Within San Mateo County, only three (3) Special Districts are represented as a public safety element. They are Menlo Park Fire Protection District, Woodside Fire Protection District, and Coastside Fire Protection District. Fire services include, fire prevention, community outreach, OEM, training, and EMS. Menlo Park Fire Protection District Serves the Unincorporated southern part of San Mateo County, Town of Atherton, the cities of Menlo Park, and East Palo Alto.

DHS/ FEMA TF-3 Drone Services Woodside Fire Protection District Serves the Towns of Woodside and Portola Valley

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Coastside Fire Protection District Serves the city of Half Moon Bay and the unincorporated part of San Mateo County to include the La Honda area. La Honda has established a volunteer fire department for that area of responsibility.

These special districts have an elected governing board serving only as representatives of an identified legislative special district. The Coastside Fire Protection District contracts its services with CAL FIRE. Fire agencies controlled, funded, and managed by their individual governmental agencies or the establishment of a Joint Powers Act (JPA) The cities of Foster City, San Mateo, and Belmont have come together establishing a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) as the “San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department”.

San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department uses their elected council members as their governing board.

The cities of Daly City, Brisbane, and Pacifica have established a JPA “North County Fire” for their fire services, EMS, fire prevention, and other related public fire safety mandates. This does not include police services. North County Fire Department uses their elected council members as their governing board.

The cities of San Carlos and Redwood City have established an agreement for fire services, fire prevention, EMS, and OES under the authority of the Redwood City Fire Department.

The city of Millbrae contracts their fire service, as does Coastside Fire, where both governmental agencies use CAL FIRE for their services.

San Mateo County has attempted to establish a working fire response system using the available resources of all agencies. Using the combination of special districts, JPAs and contractual services of CAL FIRE, San Mateo County has a working model that could be used by other governmental agencies.

A joint powers authority formed to enable fire protection districts to protect the communities they serve. www.fasisjpa.org FDAC

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Fire Districts Association of California L E G I S L A T I V E A R T I C L E

M Russell W. Noack, Public Policy Advocates, LLC Julee Malinowski Ball, Public Policy Advocates, LLC

uch like the first day of a new school year, legislators enthusiastically returned to Sacramento on Monday, January 3rd to begin the second half of the 2021-22 legislative session.

Most legislators have new offices in the “swing space,” an office building being used while the Capitol annex undergoes a major renovation. The building presents challenges to public access to legislators and staff. Additionally, they came back just in time to face the latest COVID-19 Omicron variant surge. By Thursday, January 6th, 26 legislators were unable to attend Floor Session which contributed to a less than dynamic first week back despite Speaker Anthony Rendon’s declaration, “Now get to work”!

Legislators are also entering an election year with reconfigured districts due to redistricting that occurs every ten years. To date, twenty legislators have announced they will not seek re-election in their newly drawn districts. 2022 will provide an unprecedented opportunity for a new group of candidates to seek open seats to the State Legislature.

Governor Newsom’s 2022-23 Budget Proposal - Highlights On January 10th, Governor Newsom unveiled his 2022-23 State Budget Proposal. The total Budget is estimated at $286.4 Billion and, like last year, includes a healthy surplus estimated to be $45.7 Billion. Fire prevention and mitigation, forest resilience and wildfire suppression continue to be among the highest priority in terms of funding in the Budget.

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WILDFIRES - The Budget proposes an additional $1.2 billion over two years to continue investments in forest health and fire prevention, including a major new reforestation effort. The Budget also makes a major investment to expand firefighting efforts, including new dedicated aircraft and hand crews, as well as $400 million to address the effects of the recent prolonged wildfire seasons on CAL FIRE firefighters.

To address the scale and urgency of the state’s wildfire risks, the Budget proposes an additional $1.2 billion over two years as part of a total $2.7 billion four year investment to support critical wildfire resilience programs to increase the pace and scale of forest health activities and decrease fire risk.

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Resilient Forests and Landscapes—$482 million to enhance wildfire resilience across California’s diverse landscapes by thinning forests, replanting trees, expanding grazing, and utilizing prescribed fire, which will also improve biodiversity, watershed health, carbon sequestration, air quality, and recreation.

Programs include a forest health grant program, a direct investment for tribes, support for small landowners to sustainably manage their forest lands, and funding for fire resilience on state landholdings.

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Reforestation—$100 million to help recover critical watersheds burned in catastrophic wildfires. Given the concentration of high intensity fires across critical state watersheds, this targeted investment will support post fire watershed recovery projects and expand reforestation infrastructure like nursery capacity, seed harvesting, and workforce development. Recovering these watersheds is critical to state investments in wildfire resilience activities and projects.

Wildfire Fuel Breaks—$382 million for CAL FIRE and the CCC to complete strategic fuel breaks projects over the next several years. Fire prevention grant funds will enable local communities to develop their own fire safety projects.

Community Hardening—$44 million for the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), CAL FIRE, and the UC Fire Advisors program to improve defensible space and retrofits to “harden” homes and communities against wildfire ignitions. The Budget supports educational programs that will help homeowners make these improvements on their homes and properties. This includes the UC Fire Advisors program, expanding defensible space inspectors, delivering wildfire resilience efforts, and expanding a pilot program to directly support retrofits on homes of low income Californians. The Administration will also explore leveraging grant opportunities with the federal government to expand home hardening efforts.

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Regional Investments—$110 million for targeted regional investments that will include technical support to develop cross jurisdictional regional plans, identify projects, and support project implementation. Partnering with the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program, key conservancies anchor these regional strategies.

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Science Based Management—$38 million to support rigorous monitoring and robust scientific inquiry necessary to achieve effective, long term forest health and restoration in a dynamic environment of high severity wildfire and climate change.

Investing in remote sensing, research, and science based monitoring will enable the state to effectively build wildfire and forest resilience in the face of climate change.

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Forest Sector Economic Stimulus—$44 million to expand the wood product supply chain and workforce preparedness in the wildfire resilience sector. Both thinning before a fire and removing dead trees after fires has inundated California’s capacity to process woody material.

There is an array of technology available to support these efforts to help the state meet its carbon goals. To help avoid the accumulation of woody slash piles, state investments will target market barriers including expanding pilots to deliver woody feedstock supply agreements and offset the transportation cost of removing woody material from the forests. Investments in growing the workforce through the CCC and expanding community college and vocational training programs will expand access to existing forest management jobs, as well as the growing wood products industry.

The Budget also includes $12.6 million General Fund ($9.9 million ongoing) and 33 positions for the implementation of Chapters 225, 375, 382, and 387, Statutes of 2021 (AB 9, AB 642, SB 63, and SB 456), an interconnected package of legislation aimed at limiting the threat of catastrophic wildfires and improve forest health. These investments focus primarily on implementation of the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, identifying areas of the state as moderate and high fire hazard severity zones, and enhanced coordination with regional and local fire mitigation planning.

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Fire Districts Association of California L E G I S L A T I V E A R T I C L E In addition, the Budget proposes $1.8 million General Fund ($1.7 million ongoing) and 7 positions for the implementation of Chapter 239, Statutes of 2021 (SB 109). This legislation established the Office of Wildfire Technology Research and Development within CAL FIRE to test and provide advice on emerging wildfire mitigation technology.

FIREFIGHTING SURGE CAPACITY - The Budget includes $248.4 million for additional wildland fire aviation assets, fire engines, fire suppression ground equipment, and fire crews to enhance CAL FIRE’s firefighting surge capabilities.

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Exclusive Use Type 1 Helitankers—$45 million General Fund annually for three years to secure ten additional helicopters.

CAL FIRE operates 12 state owned firefighting helicopters, and 1 firefighting helicopter under contract with San Diego County, located strategically at 11 helitack bases across California. This proposal will augment the aviation fleet with ten additional heavy helicopters, available across California, and each capable of dropping 1,000 2,000 gallons of water at a time, while awaiting the arrival of federal C 130 air tankers beginning in 2023.

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CAL FIRE Fire Hawk Helicopters—$99 million General Fund in 2022 23 and $11.7 million ongoing to purchase four additional helicopters to support 24/7 operations of the enhanced helicopter fleet. California continues to invest in the acquisition and delivery of twelve S70i Fire Hawk helicopters, with 8 of 12 currently in California. These larger helicopters have the capability to drop up to 1,000 gallons of water at a time and operate at night, which can significantly slow advancing wildfires. The acquisition of four additional helicopters will provide additional aircraft availability to help maintain 24/7 flight operations during critical fire weather conditions when frontline helicopters are due for maintenance.

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Surge Equipment: Fire Engines and Bulldozers—$35.8 million General Fund in 2022 23 and $2.8 million ongoing for surge capacity dozers and fire engines. CAL FIRE operates 356 frontline fire engines and 59 bulldozers across the state. This equipment requires regular maintenance and can have unexpected mechanical breakdowns. This proposal will add two surge engines per unit and contract county, and ten additional bulldozers, to provide additional resources that can be staffed during critical fire conditions and resource drawdown.

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Additional Fire Crews—$68.6 million General Fund in 2022 23, $81.3 million ongoing, and 33 positions to convert 16 existing seasonal CCC and California National Guard crews to year round availability and add 20 new permanent fire crews to the statewide system. This investment increases the overall number of permanent hand crews available to (1) respond to wildfires throughout the year, (2) implement high priority fuel reduction projects to protect communities from wildfire, and (3) participate in prescribed fire projects to achieve more resilient landscapes. This package builds upon existing partnerships and will partially offset the projected loss of Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation inmate crews.

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS - The Budget includes $175.2 million ($119.7 million General Fund and $55.5 million Public Buildings Construction Fund) as part of a planned $1.1 billion ($429.5 million General Fund and $671 million Public Buildings Construction Fund) over the next five years for the continuation and addition of critical major capital outlay projects statewide, including but not limited to, the replacement of aging fire stations, unit headquarters, and communication facilities, and the replacement of helitack bases and improvements to air attack bases to accommodate CAL FIRE’s new helicopter fleet and C 130 aircraft deployment plans. See the 2022 23 Five Year Infrastructure Plan for additional detail.

OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES The Budget includes $2 billion ($541.1 million General Fund) and 1,507.2 positions for Cal OES.

STRENGTHENING CALIFORNIA’S EMERGENCY RESPONSE CAPACITY AND CAPABILITIES - The Budget includes $61.9 million ($61.6 million General Fund) and 83 positions to address the more frequent, complicated, and often simultaneous emergencies and disasters involving numerous counties and regions across the state.

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Modernizing All Hazard Response and Mutual Aid System Through Technology—$30 million and 31 positions ($5.6 million and 20 positions for CAL FIRE) to establish the Fire Integrated Real time Intelligence System (FIRIS) program to increase the real-time information and situational awareness available to the state and California’s mutual aid system responders and managers on all hazards events, including wildfires. FIRIS will utilize a combination of aircraft, high definition real time video, and data analysis dispatched throughout the state to provide nearly instantaneous, accurate visual situation awareness that informs public safety and emergency management operational and tactical decisions.

Early detection and rapid intelligence allows for the strategic and efficient allocation of resources before, during, and after disaster incidents, and a more effective response to reduce loss of life and property. The intelligence gathered will also provide data and support to the Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center, as established through SB 209 (Chapter 405, Statutes of 2019).

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Enhancing the Fire and Rescue Mutual Aid Fire Fleet—$11.2 million General Fund in 2022 23, $10.9 million ongoing, and 11 positions to enhance the California State Fire and Rescue Mutual Aid System’s fire fleet. The Cal OES Fire and Rescue Division provides federal, state, and local firefighting and rescue surge capacity. Given the severity and increased frequency of wildfires in California, the potential for earthquakes, floods, mud and debris flows, and hazardous materials incidents, these resources will enhance the capacity of the mutual aid system to meet the demands of the state’s disaster response entities.

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Providing Resources for Mission Tasking—$10 million ongoing General Fund to provide funding to state entities for costs incurred as a result of mission tasking for incidents not covered under a Governor’s proclaimed state of emergency.

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Addressing Heightened Risks Through Enhanced Partnerships—$5.8 million ($5.5 million General Fund) and 20 positions to enhance Cal OES’s regional response capacity and key partnerships with local governments and other

local stakeholders. Regional disaster response and recovery capacity have been stretched thin by more frequent and higher intensity disasters. These resources will increase disaster resilience capacity based on each region’s unique needs.

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Expand Disaster Logistics Capabilities—$4.9 million ongoing General Fund and 21 positions to improve Cal OES’s core operations and effectiveness, foster quality improvement projects, and enhance emergency response capabilities.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS INFRASTRUCTURE - The Budget also contains strategic improvements to emergency preparedness infrastructure, including ongoing support for the earthquake early warning system.

California Earthquake Early Warning System—$17.1 million ongoing General Fund to support education and outreach, operations, and research and development of the California Earthquake Early Warning Program. This funding will allow the state to increase its earthquake sensor density in the rural parts of Northern California and the Sierra Nevada Microwave Telemetry project as well as offer grants to community based organizations to educate socially isolated groups and other underserved communities. Cal OES will also undertake new research in the use of Frequency Modulation radio frequencies, television broadcasting networks, and crowd sourcing for expanded ways to alert the public when a significant earthquake occurs.

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Fire Districts Association of California L E G I S L A T I V E A R T I C L E •

Cal OES Emergency Operations Centers and Security Improvements—$11.6 million General Fund to complete design and construction for a renovated State Operations Center (SOC) at the Cal OES facility in Sacramento and enhanced site security renovations. These investments are part of a total of $77.5 million General Fund over the next five years for Cal OES that also includes the construction of a new Southern California Regional Operations Center. The relocation and construction of the new facility will allow for efficiencies in the provision of services to residents of Southern California and will provide a critical back up location for coordination of statewide emergency operations should the SOC in Sacramento become inoperable for any reason.

See the 2022 23 Five Year Infrastructure Plan for additional detail.

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS - Public Safety Communications, within Cal OES, is responsible for the design, installation, maintenance, and repair of statewide emergency and public safety communication systems.

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Implementing a 9 8 8 Behavioral/Mental Health Crisis Hotline—$7.5 million General Fund ($6 million ongoing) and 10 positions to implement a new federally mandated 9 8 8 call system to increase the ease and accessibility for those experiencing a behavioral or mental health crisis. Those who dial 9 8 8 will be directed to 1 of the 13 existing Lifeline Call Centers across the state. These centers already provide immediate assistance with mental distress, and the additional funding will assist those needing services to receive help more efficiently. The Budget includes funding for call handling equipment so existing crisis hotline centers have the resources needed to process additional 9 8 8 calls and coordinate and transfer calls with no loss of information between the 9 8 8 and 9 1 1 systems. In 2022, the California Health and Human Services Agency will develop a plan to support connections between prevention efforts like warm lines and peer support services, 9 8 8 mental health crisis call centers, and mobile crisis response at the local level.

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The Governor’s fiscal blueprint will now undergo extensive scrutiny by the Legislature’s various Budget subcommittees with the complete package needing to be enacted by July 1.

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AWARDEES ANNOUNCED FOR $100 M SPECIAL DISTRICT COVID -19 RELIEF FUND

Congratulations to FDAC members who successfully applied for, and received, COVID-19 Relief Funds offered to independent special districts!

APPLE VALLEY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT CENTRAL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT (SANTA CRUZ) CHINO VALLEY INDEPENDENT FIRE DISTRICT EAST CONTRA COSTA FPD FRESNO COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT LAKESIDE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT LINDEN-PETERS FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT MENLO PARK FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT MOKELUMNE RURAL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT MONTEREY COUNTY REGIONAL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT NORTH CENTRAL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT NORTH COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT (SAN DIEGO) NOVATO FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT QUINCY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT RANCHO SANTA FE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT RODEO-HERCULES FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT SACRAMENTO METROPOLITAN FIRE DISTRICT SOUTH PLACER FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT SOUTHERN MARIN FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT TIBURON FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT TRUCKEE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT VALLEY CENTER FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT WATERLOO-MORADA FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT WOODBRIDGE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT

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The FDAC Certificate of Achievement (COA) Program is Back – Updated for 2022 Due to the unprecedented pandemic we have all faced, personally and professionally over the past two years, FDAC’s COA program was put on hold. With a new year comes a renewed vigor and a redesigned program, developed to meet the needs of you, our members. We are very excited to offer the COA to your organization in person, or virtually if needed.

Whether new to your role or a seasoned professional, the COA is designed for Fire Chiefs, Chief Officers, and Fire District Board Members looking to expand your knowledge base on areas specifically related to District governance.

The COA course of instruction is presented over two days conducted onsite within your respective jurisdiction. Topics within COA presentation include: • • • •

Legislation, Regulations and Code Board Organization, Roles, Responsibilities and the Brown Act Fire District Planning Latest Trends, Issues, and Resources

Each of these topics are presented through an interactive process by fire district professionals, well-versed in the understanding of what it takes to develop, manage, and maintain a successful organization.

If you are interested in hosting a COA program for your District or County Chief’s Association, please do not hesitate to reach out to your respective Zone Director (contacts available on the FDAC website) or contact FDAC staff at staff@fda.org for more detailed information and to schedule a presentation.

Join Us for Our Next COA Event!

FEBRUARY 26 – 27, 2022 | 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM EACH DAY

Murphys Fire Protection District | 58 Jones St, Murphys, CA 95247 $300 MEMBERS | $400 NON-MEMBERS

REGISTER TODAY! If you need hotel information please contact staff@fdac.org and we can provide you a list of near by accommodations.

VISIT WWW.FDAC.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION. REGISTRATION CLOSES FEBRUARY 22, 2022.