Calistoga Fire Chief outlines growth in calls, training and equipment needs in 2024 annual report

Fire Chief Matcham reported to the Calistoga City Council on Sept. 23 that the fire department ran a total of 1,273 incidents in 2024 and is seeing steady growth in demand for emergency services.

Matcham said the departmentlogged roughly a 5% year-over-year increase in incident volume, an 11% increase compared with 2022 and a 58% increase compared with the prior 10-year period. "We ran a total of 1,273 incidents in 2024," Matcham said. He added that 31% of the time the department had a second simultaneous call and that 57% of calls were for rescue or emergency medical services.

The nut graf: The presentation emphasized investments and shortfalls. Matcham described new equipment purchases, training gains and grant-funded tools that have reduced response times, and he pressed the council on the need for more full-time staff and a ladder truck for taller new buildings in the city.

Matcham told the council the department ordered a custom Type 1 fire engine and purchased hydraulic extrication tools at a cost of about $90,000, of which roughly $55,000 was covered by an Office of Traffic Safety grant. "It's designed for our community," he said of the engine, noting the apparatus was being built to Calistogaspecifications. He said the department had measured about a 20% improvement in extrication times after installing the new tools.

Training and prevention work were highlighted as major accomplishments. The department recorded about 3,300 hours of logged training in 2024, "over 300 hours of training per individual," Matcham said. He also noted expansion of hands-only CPR instruction into local fifth-grade classes and the high school.

Matcham described the departmentjoining a Joint Apprenticeship Committee program that ties multi-year state-recognized training and partial funding to firefighter apprenticeship and promotion tracks. He said the program will yield dedicated training funds the department can use for equipment and props.

On health and wellness, Matcham said the department ran voluntary cancer screenings in 2023 and 2024 through a clinical screening program; he reported the initial results were, to his knowledge, clear for participating staff. The department also applied for a federal grant of about $89,000 to replace structural personal protective equipment (PPE), he said.

Council members pressed the chief on operational limits. Councilmember Cooper, invoking the Pickett fire response, asked whether increased full-time staffing would have helped. Matcham said full-time staffing raises baseline skill levels and operational confidence: "The confidence in the company officer definitely goes down on other incidents" when apparatus are staffed by less-experienced part-time employees.

Matcham listed continuing challenges that include the time and inspection needs of large fairground events, inadequate local training facilities (the department currently uses Napa Countytraining grounds), housing constraints at Station 19 and turnover in part-time staffing that increases overtime costs. He also said the department lacks a ladder/aerial apparatus for three-story and other taller buildings and currently relies on mutual-aid agreements with neighboring agencies when needed.

Mayor Williams and several council members thanked the chief for the report and asked staff to return with specific options and timing for addressing the staffing and equipment gaps. Matcham said he would provide more detail if council wished to pursue those items in the spring budget cycle.

Ending: The council took no formal action at the meeting but directed staff to return with follow-up material on staffing, training facilities and equipment needs. Chief Matcham encouraged residents to attend the department open house Oct. 5.