5. Environmental Analysis

5. Environmental Analysis 5.12 PUBLIC SERVICES This section addresses public services including: Fire Protection and Emergency Services, Police Protection, School Services, and Library Services. Park Services are addressed in Section 5.14, Recreation. Public and private utilities and service systems, including water, wastewater, and solid waste services and systems; are addressed in Section 5.15. Information was provided by service questionnaires (found in Appendix E, Volume II) and the following technical document: • Arrowhead Springs Annexation Study: Plan for Service, City of San Bernardino, Stanley R. Hoffman Associates, June 8, 2005. 5.12.1 Fire Protection and Emergency Services 5.12.1.1 Environmental Setting San Bernardino The City of San Bernardino is serviced by San Bernardino City Fire Department SBCFD). The San Bernardino City Fire Department serves a resident population of over 180,300 and covers a diverse service area of 60 square miles. In the service area there are approximately 19 miles of wildland interface area, a major rail yard, an international airport, the County Seat, a correctional facility, two major mall complexes, and two major interstate freeways. Water Pressure System The water pressure system that supplies emergency water for fire services is comprised of three separate, interconnected systems: a lower, an intermediate, and an upper system. These are a combination of gravity and booster pump systems that transport water up elevation differences in order to maintain adequate water pressure. Water is obtained from 35 wells using 35 turbine pumps and released into the system using 44 booster pumps and 422 miles of water mains. Twenty one strategically placed reservoirs, having a total water storage of about 75 million gallons, are in use and there is a total production capability of about 71 million gallons per day. The San Bernardino City Fire Department presently has in excess of 3,000 fire hydrants in the City. Facilities and Staffing The San Bernardino City Fire Department staffs twelve fire engine companies and two aerial truck companies housed in twelve stations in the City. Table 5.12-1 lists fire stations that serve the City and contract areas. In addition to stations within the City’s fire department, all fire departments in the State are signatory to a master mutual aid agreement. This agreement was established to provide assistance for major incidents. The agreement states in part that “political subdivisions will reasonably exhaust local resources before calling for outside assistance.” In addition to a master mutual aid agreement, the City of San Bernardino Fire Department has a joint response agreements between the neighboring cities of Rialto, Colton, and Loma Linda, where units in the these cities respond in the event of a multi-unit fire.1 Stations that would respond in the case of a major incident are also listed in Table 5.12-1. The Fire Department also contracts with the County of San Bernardino to provide service for portions of the County. 1 Phone conversation with Chief Allan Simpson, SBFD. February, 2004 General Plan Update and Associated Specific Plans EIR City of San Bernardino • Page 5.12-1 5. Environmental Analysis Table 5.12-1 San Bernardino City Fire Department Fire Stations Station Location Equipment Personnel Fire Station #221 200 E. 3rd Street Medic Engine 3 Aerial Ladder Truck 4 Battalion Command Vehicle 1 Air/Light Truck (staff as needed) Fire Station #222 1201 W. 9th Street Medic Engine 4 Fire Station #223 2121 N. Medical Center Dr. Medic Engine 4 Brush Engine (staff as needed) Fire Station #224 2641 N. “E” Street Medic Engine 3 Aerial Ladder Truck 4 Battalion Command Vehicle 1 Fire Station #225 1640 W. Kendall Drive Medic Engine 3 Brush Engine (staff as needed) Fire Station #226 1920 N. Del Rosa Avenue Medic Engine 4 Fire Station #227 282 W. 40th Street Medic Engine 4 Fire Station #228 3398 E. Highland Avenue Medic Engine 3 Brush Engine (staff as needed) Fire Station #229 202 N. Meridian Avenue Medic Engine 3 Fire Station #230 502 S. Arrowhead Avenue Medic Engine 4 Brush Engine (staff as needed) Heavy Rescue Unit (staff as needed) Fire Station #231 450 Vanderbilt Way Medic Engine 3 HazMat Unit (staff as needed) Fire Station #232 6053 North Palm Avenue Medic Engine 4 Brush Engine (staff as needed) Fire Station #233 165 Lealand Norton Way 2 each: SBD Airport • 1500 Gallon ARFF Units (staff as needed) • Quick Attack Unit (staff as needed) Additional Units provided by Mutual Aid Agreement San Manuel FS #241 26540 Indian Service Road Medic Engine 4 Medic Quint 4 Battalion Command Unit 1 USDA FS #36 2586 Hillview Road Brush Engine 5 seasonal County FS #75 2156 W. Darby Street (Muscoy) Engine 3 County FS #2 1511 Devore Road (Devore) Engine 3 Notes: Medic Engines are staffed with one Captain, Engineers, Paramedic Firefighter and, in some cases, an additional Firefighter. Ladder Trucks are staffed with on Captain, Engineer, and 2 Firefighters. Battalion Command Vehicles are staffed with on Battalion Chief. Other assigned apparatus are staffed by on duty personnel on an as needed basis. List does not include 5 reserve engines and 1 reserve truck. Source: San Bernardino City Fire Department, 2004. The current "On-Duty" strength per shift, total number of personnel available to respond to emergencies including two battalion Chief Officers, for the San Bernardino City Fire Department is 51, divided among the twelve stations. The department also currently has all personnel trained to the level of Emergency Medical Technician at a minimum. The department also staffs a minimum of one Advanced Life Support paramedic on each engine company. Fire related emergencies are answered by a minimum of four firefighters. Structural fires are answered by a minimum of 17 firefighters. The average work week is a 56-hour week. Page 5.12-2 • The Planning Center July 2005 5. Environmental Analysis Response time for a unit varies and depends on the location of the response site; however, the City’s adopted response time standard is five minutes or less 90 percent of the emergency calls for service. This time is measured from when the responding unit goes en route to the call, to when it arrives on the scene of an emergency. From within the planning area, if an engine is at the closest fire station (station 227 located at 282 West 40th Street), the response time would be 8 to 12 minutes for a unit to respond from the closest fire station. With the exception of Fire Station #233, all fire stations are manned continuously. The San Bernardino International Airport Fire Station #233, consists of active personnel at designated times during the week. The station is equipped to respond to calls at the airport or to provide special services when needed by full-time personnel from other stations during off hours. In addition, the City Council has approved a plan to relocate four of the existing fire stations within the City Limits so that fire responses by units can achieve the adopted level of five minutes or less 90 percent of the time. This project will occur as funding is identified and allocated by the Mayor and Common Council. Services Besides fire protection services, the San Bernardino City Fire Department also provides Fire/Arson Investigation Unit, Hazardous Materials Team and Disaster Preparedness Services. The Investigations Unit has 10 personnel staff consisting of a Senior Investigator and nine other personnel certified as Investigators. The unit is assigned to Fire Station #222 and all of its members hold Peace Officer status. Members of this unit participate on a volunteer basis with 100 hours of on-scene training. The Hazardous Materials Response Team handles hazardous materials leakage, emissions, discharge, dumps, spills, etc., within the planning area boundaries. Station #231 is designated to answer calls associated with handling of hazardous materials. The Disaster Preparedness Office, created by the City’s Municipal Code, Chapter 2.46, is a division of the Fire Department. Under the direction of the Fire Chief, a major activity of the Disaster Preparedness Office is the development and approval of integrated emergency response plans for the City of San Bernardino. Hazardous Fire Areas San Bernardino City Fire Department is a member of the Inland Empire Fuels and Management Alliance. This is nine-member alliance developed to identify specific projects pertaining to vegetation management and wild land fuel reduction within San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. Each member participates in such projects as to prevent and minimize fire threats in and around their respective communities As the foothill areas adjacent to the San Bernardino Mountains are considered hazardous fire areas, the City of San Bernardino has created a Foothill Fire Zone Overlay District. Within this District, the City identifies three foothill fire zones that have different degrees of hazard based on slope, type of fuel present, and natural barriers. The foothill fire zones are: A–Extreme Hazard, B–High Hazard, and C–Moderate Hazard. Fire Zone A includes areas with slopes of 30 percent or greater, Fire Zone B includes area with slopes between 15 to 30 percent and, Fire Zone C includes those areas with slopes of 0 to 15 percent. Insurance Classification The Insurance Service Office (ISO) Grading Schedule is a means of classifying cities with reference to their fire defenses and physical conditions. The insurance classification developed under this schedule is only one of several elements used in development of fire insurance rates. The ISO rating for the planning area is Class 3. The ISO rating is on a scale from 1 to 10, with Class 1 being the best. In most insurance rates, the fire insurance costs are the same for single-family residential structures in the 2–4 rating.

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