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equipped with residential fire sprinklers. CPSM recognizes the application of the automatic fire
sprinklers in both the City and District as a
Best Practice
.
CAL FIRE plays a significant role in fire prevention efforts, mainly through public fire safety
education and during Fire Prevention Week each October. Members of the fire department
routinely respond throughout the year to requests from schools, civic groups, and the community
to see the department’s fire apparatus. Department members review basic fire safety with the
public such as exit drills in the home; stop, drop and roll; and changing smoke/carbon monoxide
detector batteries in the spring and fall. These public fire safety efforts are a
Best Practice
. The
city Fire Marshal has limited staffing to perform the public fire safety education function, but
makes a significant commitment to participate in public education events, special events and
community outreach efforts.
The City of Morgan Hill has enacted a
Weed Abatement Ordinance
that requires removal of
hazardous weeds and brush in an effort to prevent or mitigate the spread of wild fires. The Fire
Department is charged with the enforcement of this ordinance and this responsibility has been
delegated to the Fire Marshall’s Office. The Fire Marshall has anticipated that this added
requirement will add in excess of 600 hours of additional workload to oversee this process in the
City. Currently this capacity does not exist and additional staffing will be required to fulfill this
responsibility. Weed abatement in the District is provided through the County’s Department of
Agriculture. The weed abatement program applicable in the District is voluntary, though
mitigation efforts may be required if the situation is deemed to be a fire hazard.
The fire prevention efforts in the District and the City are not unified. Different aspects of this
effort are supervised and coordinated through the different levels of government. Though CAL
FIRE is under contract to provide fire prevention services in both areas, there are differences in
the management of these efforts because of the processing and enforcement differences
between the City and County. The situation is compounded because of the involvement of the
Santa Clara County Central Fire Protection District, which has been charged with much of the
fire prevention oversight, yet its jurisdictions does not include SSCCFD. Though the agencies
attempt to work cooperatively in the administration of fire prevention efforts, there are gaps and
differences in these efforts.
Recommendation: Morgan Hill and Santa Clara County should consider consolidating
their fire prevention efforts (permitting, plans review, inspections and code
enforcement) under CAL FIRE in the delivery of fire prevention services.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS
Education and training programs create the character of a fire service organization. Agencies
that place a real emphasis on their training have a tendency to be more proficient in carrying
out day-to-day duties. The prioritization of training also fosters professionalism and teamwork and
instills pride in the organization. An effective fire department training program must cover all of
the essential elements in the department’s core missions and responsibilities. The program must
include an appropriate combination of technical/classroom training and manipulative or hands-
on/practical evolutions. Most of the training, but particularly the practical hands-on training
evolutions, should be developed based upon the department’s own operating procedures. It is
also important that all training evolutions are reflective of those accepted practices and industry
standards.
CAL FIRE has an excellent training program and there is a dedicated effort focused on a wide
array of training activities. The training functions of CAL FIRE are primarily handled by three