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Contra Costa Fire chief outlines hazmat merger, $2.7M helicopter contract and Station 9 rebuild
Summary
Chief Aaron McAllister told the Pleasant Hill City Council that Confire merged county hazmat staff into a unified team, signed about a $2.7 million helicopter contract for this fire season, and plans to reconstruct Station 9 with a roughly 24‑month schedule.
Aaron McAllister, the recently appointed fire chief for the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, told the Pleasant Hill City Council that on July 1 the district merged county and Confire hazmat programs and embedded roughly 35 county hazmat employees to strengthen scientific and operational capacity. "On July 1, we merged the county hazmat programs," McAllister said, describing the consolidation as a process that required an 18–24 month planning effort to implement.
McAllister also described a new aviation contract for the 2026 fire season. "We have a contract that's about 2,700,000 for the fire season," he said, noting a Type 2 aerial firefighting helicopter is stationed in Byron for daylight operations to support quicker water drops on wildland incidents. He told council the district is reconstructing Station 9 (serving a large portion of Pleasant Hill) with a planned temporary relocation to Buchanan Field during what staff estimate will be an approximately 24‑month construction period; staff expect to select finalists and receive bids this year with contract award targeted by January.
