As of Tuesday, the Marin County Fire Department has committed the services of 41 personnel – about 25 percent of its total workforce -- to fight raging forest fires around Northern California.
MCFD has dispatched 23 people and six engines to the Rim Fire near Yosemite, 16 people to the Deer Fire in Tehama County and two people to the Corral Complex Fire in the Six Rivers Forest portion of the Trinity Alps, said Fire Chief Jason Weber. The commitment is similar to those of other California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL-Fire) units and CAL-Fire contract counties.
MCFD doubles its staffing annually during peak fire season. Its normal workforce is 84, but now it is more than 160, Weber said.
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Even with the number of firefighters battling flames across the state, residents in Marin are very well protected.
“All of our stations are fully staffed and ready to respond,” said Battalion Chief Mike Giannini. “The nature of our business requires our personnel to work shifts. When some of our folks are at a fire, we backfill those positions with our off-duty personnel.”
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Pitching in to fight such forest fires outside of Marin is nothing new for MCFD. In addition to sending help where it’s needed, the personnel contribution has a long-term benefit for the department as well.
“It also provides us an opportunity to expose personnel to command positions and develop the skills they will need to help manage and mitigate a local emergency,” Weber said.
Check the recently upgraded MCFD website at www.marincountyfire.org and see photos posted on its Facebook page.
