Ross council hears detailed review of fire and ambulance deployment; no majority to fund new studies

Ross — Ross Town Council members heard a two‑hour briefing from county and valley fire officials on the provision of fire and emergency medical services to the town and surrounding Ross Valley on the evening of March 12, then debated whether to direct the town manager to pursue further studies of alternatives.

The presentation, led by Marin County Fire Chief Jason Weber, Ross Valley Fire Chief Dan Mahoney and Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority Executive Officer Mark Brown, quantified ambulance availability, described changes to dispatching and countywide incident management, and summarized wildfire‑risk reduction work already under way across Marin.

“We now have a little larger data set to look at,” Chief Weber said when summarizing recent CityGate consultant studies of ambulance unit‑hour utilization. He cautioned that “when you have smaller data sets, you can have more volatile data,” and he underscored that ambulance availability in Ross had fallen from a roughly 2017 two‑year average to lower levels in the 2023 single‑year dataset.

Nut graf: The meeting was convened so councilors could receive the briefing, hear public comment and decide whether to direct the town manager to spend staff resources to study five alternatives — including joining or contracting with neighboring districts, building a new station, standing up a Town of Ross fire department, or asking the Ross Valley Fire Department to continue operating a station in Ross. Council discussion showed considerable interest but no clear majority to fund any of the proposed studies, leaving the town manager without the three affirmative votes the council had required to begin those research efforts.

What officials presented

Chief Weber and Chief Mahoney described systemwide ambulance and engine activity and recent operational changes: a countywide consolidated dispatch center, prearrival instructions for callers, and a planned “closest‑resource” automatic vehicle location (AVL) dispatch capability to go live in coming months that will dispatch the closest appropriate unit to life‑threatening (“echo”) calls regardless of jurisdiction.

The chiefs cited Ross‑specific data from the Ross Valley Paramedic Authority and CityGate studies: in 2023 there were 96 ambulance dispatches recorded as incidents in Ross; 26 (about 27%) did not require patient transport; and 68 of those 96 responses were handled by the medic unit assigned to Ross. Chief Weber summarized those local figures and the county perspective: “The unit hour utilization at that time was on average … committed 21% of the time over that 24 hour period,” meaning the Ross ambulance was available roughly 79% of the time on average, with considerable hour‑by‑hour variation.

Chief Mahoney explained operational changes already planned for July 1 under the Ross Valley Fire JPA deployment plan: engine companies will be re‑staffed as three‑person units, the department will add firefighters to bring daily staffing levels up, and the “weight of response” for major incidents has been increased in recent updates. “We are moving to an additional firefighter on duty … slated for 07/01/2025,” Mahoney said, describing staffing shifts intended to preserve response capacity after the engine company housed at Station 18 in Ross is removed from daily staffing as part of a previous council‑level decision.

Wildfire prevention, insurance and defensible space

Mark Brown of the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority summarized the agency’s fuel‑reduction, defensible‑space inspection and public‑education programs. He said the MWPA has inspected thousands of parcels across Marin and that enforcement and mitigation remain a core focus: “Wildfire does not care about any jurisdictional boundaries whatsoever,” Brown said, explaining why regional coordination and fuel‑break projects are central to risk reduction.

Brown presented MWPA statistics for Ross: more than 800 properties have been inspected, only about 4.7% were fully compliant in the recorded inspections, and nearly 770 findings were flagged in the Zone 0 (the first five feet around structures) where ember ignitions are a principal threat. He said insurers currently place more weight on parcel‑level mitigation than on raw distance to a station, but added that MWPA is working to improve the data insurers use.

Council debate and direction request

The town manager asked the council whether she should be directed to expend staff resources to develop cost and feasibility estimates for five alternatives: contracting with Kentfield Fire District, contracting with Central Marin Fire, a cost estimate to build a new Ross fire station, costs to operate a Town of Ross fire department, and a feasibility study for the Ross Valley Fire Department to continue operating a station in Ross with an amended joint powers agreement.

Councilors expressed a range of views in a lengthy, sometimes spirited discussion. Several council members said they wanted the town to press forward with the civic center project and the paramedic facility. Others said they wanted the town to gather more financial detail and to explore private fundraising and bond options if the community wanted to retain a staffed engine in Ross.

But the council had set a procedural rule that three members must affirmatively authorize the town manager to spend staff time on any of those studies. After sequentially polling council members on each of the five study topics, the mayor concluded the polling without a clear three‑member majority to authorize the town manager to start those studies. The town manager later told the council she would not be able to support a community‑led research effort without a clear council directive because it would consume staff time that is also needed to implement existing capital work.

Public comment and community concern

More than two dozen speakers addressed the council during public comment. Many urged preserving an engine company, rebuilding the Station 18 facility, or putting the decision to voters. Speakers said they were worried about longer ambulance arrival times and about local insurance availability for homeowners. Others — including several who said they had served in Ross’s volunteer or professional fire service — supported the deployment changes and emphasized the countywide resources, AVL dispatching and the increased “weight of response” for large incidents.

What the council did and next steps

Councilors received the presentation and engaged in extended public comment. Because no three‑member majority directed the town manager to begin new studies, the manager did not commit to expending town staff resources on the five alternatives that evening. Councilmembers asked staff and the Ross Valley Fire JPA to continue monitoring ambulance availability and to keep the council informed of any operational gaps. The dispatch center upgrade to AVL and countywide closest‑resource rules will be implemented independently of the town’s decision.

Ending

Councilors said they will monitor operational data from the Ross Valley Paramedic Authority and the Ross Valley Fire Department over the spring and summer as the AVL dispatch system goes live and staffing changes are implemented July 1. Several council members told the meeting they wanted staff to proceed immediately with the civic center and paramedic facility work regardless of whether further station‑level studies move forward. The council also invited residents and organized community groups to propose private fundraising or a bond measure if they seek a locally staffed engine in Ross.