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Published on 07/07/1997 All articles from this issue

Residents give fire service high marks for first 6 months

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue / Town Crier Staff Writer

After the first six months with the Santa Clara County Fire Department, folks give the new service high marks.

"I would rate them from fair to A+," said city councilwoman Kris Casto. "No one has called me with any complaints. If there was a problem, we'd probably have heard about it."

Casto and Mayor Francis La Poll both voted against the contract with County Fire last fall.

Now Casto cites many good things she sees coming from the new fire service for Los Altos that began Dec. 30.

"Automatic aid with Palo Alto - that's wonderful news," she said. With automatic aid, whatever fire station or apparatus is the closest when an alarm sounds is the first to respond, regardless of jurisdiction.

The automatic aid agreement with Palo Alto was scheduled to go before the Palo Alto city council Monday and is expected to be on the Los Altos City Council agenda next Tuesday.

In addition to automatic aid agreements, Casto also cites paramedics - starting this (fiscal) year - as more positive news. "Good things are happening," she said.

Layne Long, Los Altos assistant city manager, agrees.

He, too, is pleased with the auto aid agreements. One with Mountain View has already been finalized, he said.

Los Altos had been working with Mountain View for a long time, "but they had issues with communications," Long said. "When that transferred out (to County Communications Dec. 30) they (Mountain View staff) were OK with auto aid."

Long, with councilman Lou Becker and La Poll, will be conducting a six-month performance review of the fire service that will probably be complete by August, Long said.

He also said he is not aware of any problems that have not been addressed.

"Like the fire reports," he said. At first it took two months to get out the monthly reports that come from County Fire. "Now they're coming on a monthly basis. (Chief) Doug (Sporleder) has been very responsive to all our requests."

Los Altos resident King Lear, who last fall objected strongly to the city going with County Fire, said, "I can't personally tell the difference (now) from what we had before."

Sporleder calls that a "seamless transition."

But Lear looks at it differently. With the new service from County Fire, "I don't see an improvement. But I thought it (fire service with a Los Altos Fire Department) was fine before."

Lear said he likes the concept of auto aid and said he'd be impressed if County Fire could "get the city completely circled with auto aid."

In addition to city staff and council members, the firefighters are happy. All the former Los Altos firefighters were hired on to become part of County Fire Department.

"We've had more training, more classes," said firefighter John Jamison, who had been with Los Altos for 15 years. He recently had a hydrant class. "Never in 15 years had I had that," he said.

As firefighters from County trade places and work with firefighters from Los Altos, some worried that firefighters might get lost answering calls.

"But we're always with somebody who knows the area," said Capt. Charlie Shaw, who spent 10 years in Los Altos.

Just ask Jim McCluskey, a firefighter/paramedic usually stationed in Campbell, who July 2 was in Los Altos. He brought his skills to Los Altos but somebody else was the driver on calls.

Chief Sporleder said he couldn't point to a bump in the change-over. If a citizen calls with a concern, "we get right on it."

When the contract first went into effect, some Los Altos residents complained that to call the fire department office, they had to make a long-distance call.

"So we added an 800 number," Sporleder said. "We're in customer service. And we want to bring fire safety to both communities (Los Altos and Los Altos Hills.)" To call County Fire for a non-emergency, dial l 1-800-800-1793.