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Calistoga fire chief warns of staffing shortfalls, urges planning for ladder truck
Summary
At the March 10 council meeting Fire Chief Matrim reported Calistoga handled 1,236 incidents last year (about 61% medical), said the department does not meet national staffing standards and urged council to begin planning for a ladder/aerial apparatus to address growing needs from three‑story buildings and rescues.
Fire Chief Matrim told the Calistoga City Council on March 10 that the city’s fire department is operating with persistent staffing shortfalls and growing operational demands that make planning for a ladder/aerial apparatus a long‑term priority.
“We don’t meet any of the national standards for staffing on our fire engines,” Matrim said during his annual update, summarizing the department’s current model: nine full‑time employees working three shifts, with each engine typically staffed by two personnel (a captain and a firefighter) and a goal to fill a fourth daily seat with part‑time firefighters.
Matrim said the department responded to 1,236 incidents last year, about 61% of which were medical calls, and logged roughly 3,500 hours of formal training. The department also provides first‑response coverage to an approximately 50‑square‑mile county contract area and faces frequent overlapping calls that “draw down our resources,” the chief said.
Council and the public questioned Matrim about equipment and mutual aid. He said Calistoga lacks a ladder truck and that mutual‑aid options are limited: Saint Helena’s truck is not staffed daily and Yountville’s staffed truck is the next closest. “It is a long response time to get a ladder truck here,” Matrim said, adding that the department has not formally requested an aerial apparatus in this year’s budget but that he has raised it in prior strategic conversations.
Matrim also described other operational pressures: increasing special events, new inspections and enforcement tied to wildfire hazard mitigation, housing and recruitment challenges for part‑time firefighters, and a roughly 40% reduction in revenue generated from county response fees after a negotiated new fee matrix for the contract area.
Council members thanked the chief and pressed on prevention work. Matrim acknowledged that fire prevention and inspections have been constrained by staffing, noting the department lacks a dedicated prevention bureau and must balance training and operations with inspection duties.
The council did not take immediate action on equipment procurement. Matrim recommended that the city begin planning — securing funding, developing acquisition and staffing plans, and incorporating the need into future budget and strategic discussions.
