Ventura County Fire updates Simi Valley council on whole-blood program and new fire-hazard maps

Division Chief Dan Horton of the Ventura County Fire Department told the Simi Valley City Council that the department responded to 2,914 incidents in the third quarter and 12,134 calls year-to-date, with medical calls accounting for roughly 80% of annual volume.

Horton described a new whole-blood prehospital transfusion program launched April 1, 2025, in partnership with Ventura County Medical Center (VCMC), Ventura County EMS Agency and Vitalant. He said all five VCFD paramedic rescue ambulances now carry whole blood, and three county aviation helicopters also carry blood. To date, VCFD paramedics have administered about 25 field transfusions; Horton said the department’s first patient who received a field transfusion survived. He added crews typically administer about one liter in the field and that the product used is intended to be a universal type; Horton said no ill effects have been reported to date but deferred detailed medical questions to hospital partners.

Fire Inspector Afra Malky reviewed proposed updates to the state’s fire hazard severity zone maps. She explained the maps assess hazard (how likely a fire is to ignite and spread) rather than short-term risk; they inform local land-use decisions, building-code requirements, and mitigation planning. Malky described defensible-space guidance: an immediate noncombustible area around the building (5–30 feet), a reduced-fuel zone (30–100 feet) and additional mitigation steps. She said state figures show about 1,250,000 structures in state responsibility areas and 870,000 in local responsibility areas could be affected. New requirements for existing homes are expected to be finalized by the Board of Forestry and, if adopted for local responsibility areas, would become enforceable with phased compliance through Jan. 1, 2029; staff said the city will assist homeowners and that enforcement is not immediate.

Councilmembers asked technical questions about interior versus exterior sprinklers, whether whole-blood transfusions require blood-type matching, how topography factors into hazard mapping, and whether Firewise/Risk-Reduction programs produce insurance savings. VCFD staff clarified that interior sprinklers are an existing building-code matter, the whole-blood product used in the field is intended to be broadly compatible, and insurance impacts would be a matter for the Fire Safe Regional Council and insurers to quantify.

The department provided residents and staff with resources — a public website and an email contact for fire prevention questions — and encouraged registering for VC Alert emergency notifications.