Field Operations & Support Services
The Field Operations Division  delivers all of the Fire Department’s emergency response services and plays an important part in delivering many other non-emergency services. There are a total of 71 employees assigned to this division, which is headed by a Fire Division Chief. Sixty-nine emergency response personnel are divided into three operations “shifts” (A, B and C-Shift). Each of those shifts is commanded by a Battalion Chief. The Training & Career Development Section, managed by a Training Officer/Captain, is also part of this division.
Emergency response personnel are deployed from four fire stations located strategically throughout the City. The department serves a population of 91,461 located within the 28 square miles of the City of Vacaville. We also provide emergency medical services to a 160 square mile area of unincorporated Solano County.
The Department prides itself in offering excellent emergency response to a variety of incidents, including fires, medical emergencies, hazardous material releases, and specialized rescue situations. This is accomplished through the efforts of our minimum daily shift staffing of 19 emergency response personnel.
All 911 calls for service are handled by professional public safety dispatchers. These dispatchers are an integral part of the Fire Department’s emergency response team from the time the call is received until the last unit leaves the emergency scene.
A recently completed "Standards of Coverage" study provided an assessment of how department resources are currently deployed, and what impacts any future development may have on the existing level of service provided by the Fire Department.
 Emergency Incident Response Statistics: The Department responded to a total of 6,403 emergency incidents in 2003. Of those, approximately 80% were medical emergencies, 10% were fire emergencies, and 10% were other emergencies such as fire alarm, rescue and hazardous materials incidents.
Response Time Performance: The City Council has adopted Fire Department performance standards for emergency response to critical fire and medical calls. The goal is to have an appropriately staffed and equipped unit on the scene of these types of calls within seven minutes or less (starting from receipt of 9-1-1 call) 90% of the time.
Fire Incident Response: The Department responds to a variety of fires every year involving structures, vehicles, vegetation, trash and other combustible materials. Combating those fires requires specialized training, apparatus, and equipment. Emergency response crews routinely staff three engines and a 100’ aerial platform truck. Other emergency vehicles at the ready include wildland fire apparatus, a 3,000 gallon water tender and a medium-rescue squad unit.
 Emergency Medical Service & Advanced Life Support Ambulance Transport: The Department's paramedic program is one of the oldest in Northern California, approved by Vacaville voters in 1977. Today, 27 paramedic personnel and 42 EMTs respond to thousands of medical emergencies each year. With transport capabilities, the Department is able to expedite the movement of patients to a variety of area hospitals without interrupting the continuity of care. In addition to providing service to the 28 square miles within the City limits, the Department also provides paramedic ambulance service to both State prisons in Vacaville and 160 square miles of surrounding County area (known as Ambulance Zone C).
Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) Program: In addition to the manual monitor/defibrillator units carried on all ambulances, the Department has recently added automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) to all first-run fire apparatus and other EMT-staffed vehicles, ensuring that this life-saving technology will reach critical patients in the shortest time possible.
Hazardous Materials Emergency: The Department is responsible for commanding all hazardous materials incidents in the City except for those occurring on a freeway. All emergency response personnel are trained and certified at the first-responder operations level. Typical incidents include natural gas leaks, fuel spills, illegal dumping of hazardous waste and accidental chemical releases from trucks or at industrial occupancies.
Specialized Rescue: The Department handles different types of rescue situations requiring specialized equipment and training. The most frequent type of rescue emergency involves extricating people who are trapped in vehicles as the result of traffic accidents. The Department also maintains a team of personnel who are specially trained to conduct rescue activities in permit-required confined spaces. This team trains regularly with other City personnel and local industries that have these kinds of hazardous spaces.
The Field Operations Division also has responsibility for providing and/or supporting many non-emergency services offered by the Fire Department. Those services continue to support the safety and well being of people who live, work, and play in Vacaville. Many of these efforts are focused on reducing or eliminating emergencies before they happen. Some of the key services include:
Fire Inspection: The Company Inspection Program involves having emergency response crews conduct annual fire safety inspections in key occupancies throughout the City. Virtually all fire inspections of public and private schools, apartment buildings, hotels and motels are done by the crews. This amounts to over half of all fire inspections conducted annually by the Department. ( The remaining inspections are provided by the Fire Prevention Bureau.)
Fire & Life Safety Education: Working with the Fire Safety Coordinator and other Fire Prevention Bureau personnel, emergency response crews provide fire and life safety education programs to a variety of audiences in many different settings. Crews attend organized neighborhood events (such as National Night Out), conduct fire station tours for organized groups of young people, and provide formal and informal presentations at schools, businesses and industries throughout Vacaville.
Smoke Alarm Program: One of the goals of the Department is to ensure that every dwelling unit in Vacaville has at least one functioning, properly installed smoke alarm. Toward that end, crews will provide and install a smoke alarm at no charge to residents who need one but cannot purchase and/or install one on their own. Also, if a resident has a 9 volt battery-powered smoke alarm and cannot change out a dead battery, crews will come to their house and install a fresh battery for free.
SUPPORT SERVICES
The Support Services Division is headed by a division chief. There are four major functions within the support services division. They are: human resources, computer reporting and records management services, fire prevention and education, and administrative support.
The Human Resources Function is responsible for recruitment and hiring. The fire department works closely with the City Human Resources Services Department to recruit, hire, and promote our employees.
Computer Reporting and Records Management is the collection of data related to our emergency responses and our reporting requirements to the State and County agencies.
The Fire Prevention Bureau is supervised by the Assistant Fire Marshal and is responsible for code enforcement, fire investigation, and fire and life safety education. Those functions are outlined below.
· Fire and Life Safety Education is coordinated by our Fire Safety Coordinator. The fire department provides several forms of public education ranging from school site visits to impromptu contacts while out in the community. We also offer fire station tours that include public education. We have many brochures on several different topics that are very helpful. If you are interested, you can contact us by email or call 449-5466.
· Fire Investigation is conducted by our Fire Marshal, Assistant Fire Marshal, Fire Inspector, Suppression personnel, and our Police Department. We work very closely with the police department on fires determined to be arson.
· Code Enforcement begins with plan reviews of new buildings and modifications of existing buildings. Plans are reviewed by the Assistant Fire Marshal, and the Plans Examiner. Once the building is built, we conduct maintenance inspections to help maintain that a reasonable degree of fire safety exist. Fire Inspections are conducted by our Fire Prevention Specialist and Suppression crews. We work in partnership with building and business owners to help us with this process.
The Administrative Services Section is supervised by a Division Chief. Under this function, there are four areas of responsibility. The Management Analyst II is responsible for Financial Management and Data Collection and Analysis. The Administrative Assistant is responsible for Volunteer Services, and supervises the clerical section which provides clerical support and courier services to the entire department as well as customer service to the public who call or visit our business office at City Hall.
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