SAVED

BODEGA BAY FIREIt has been a busy summer here in theBodega Bay area of the Sonoma Coast.Emergency incidents are on the rise-soplease be extra careful.Weed abatement inspections are infull swing, so please do not wait to cutyour grass as we are about to enter thevery critical part of the fire season. Donot hesitate to contact us if you haveany questions or concerns.We were honored to host a communitymeeting here at the fire station for5 th District Supervisor Efren Carrilloon August 18 th . We look forward tofuture meetings with a focus on publicsafety and future [sustainable] fundingsources. A special thanks to former 5 thDistrict Supervisor Eric Koenigshoferand Gourmet Au Bay for their generousdonations to offset the recent Countypurchase of a house for the residentdeputy post here in Bodega Bay.The District is working to create astrategic plan that will guide us in ourfuture endeavors. Like many of you weare struggling with increased costs withdeclining revenue. Our basic goal is tosearch high and low for other revenuesources before coming back to the voteror in reducing services. It should benoted that reducing services and askingthe voters for more money are actionsof last resort.We are all very saddened by thepassing of Tommy Burke. Tommy wasa huge supporter of the Fire Districtand of the Bodega Bay Volunteer FireDepartment before us. Tommy madeour current fire station location possibleby splitting off a portion of his ownland. Always caring. Always generous.Always willing to help. Tommy will bemissed by all of us.FORESTVILLE FIREFire safety tipsThe Forestville Fire Districtresponded to three fires in the last twoweeks that serve as excellent remindersof some basic fire safety issues.Two of the fires were a directlyresult of the storage and cleaning ofoil or stain soaked rags. In one case,oil or stain soaked rags were left piledon a wood cabinet in a garage. Theresulting early morning fire causedsignificant damage to the garageand its contents, including two cars,with smoke damage throughout theremainder of the house. In the othercase the placing the oil or stain soakedrags in a dryer, after being washedseveral times, resulted in a dryer firewhich caused minor damage to thedryer.The third fire was a result ofdisposing fireplace ashes in agrassy area. Even though we haveexperienced fog and drizzle in themornings our afternoons still warmup causing our very flammable grassfuels to dry out quickly. In our caseas the winds picked up and the suncame out in the early afternoon thepile of ashes, disposed of in the priorevening or early morning, served as asource of ignition for a small grass firethe briefly threatened two structures.Fireplace and barbeque ashes shouldbe disposed of in a metal container andplaced away from other combustiblesincluding decks and plastic garbagecans.This is good practice even ifyou have not used your fireplace orbarbeque in some time. Thoroughlysoaking the ashes with water is alsoacceptable but they still should not bedisposed of near combustibles.Fortunately all of the fires werecontrolled quickly and there were noinjuries.Final budgetThe Forestville Fire District Boardof Directors will hold a public hearingbefore approving their Final Budgetfor Fiscal Year 2010/11 at their regularBoard Meeting beginning at 6 pm onSeptember 14, 2010 at the ForestvilleFire Station. As always the public iswelcome to attend.GRATON FIREGroundbreaking CeremonyLast Thursday, August 26 th , we heldthe groundbreaking ceremony forthe new fire station to be located onHighway 116, just across from DuttonVineyards. It has been 20 years sinceour Board of Directors identified anew station as a priority. The currentbuilding started as a train depot over70 years ago; it was never designed tobe a fire station. When the Del DavisTree Farm became available, we finallyhad the perfect location. After fouryears of designing, approvals, andidentifying funding... it has becomea reality. The new fire station will becompleted by Spring 2011. Please visitthe www.gratonfire.com website oftenas we will be posting pictures of theprogress.Siren SurveyBy now, everyone who lives withinour fire district should have receiveda survey postcard in the mail. TheBoard of Directors is specificallyinterested in getting feedback fromthe community it represents on thenoon siren test each day. A group ofcitizens has suggested that it shouldbe turned off. The noon siren has beenpart of Graton for 60 years; let us knowif you would like to see it continue ornot. Please send back your card bySeptember 15 th . Thank you.Gas and water shut-off valvesDo you know where and how toshut off the utilities to your house orapartment? Take the time now, so thatyou know exactly what to do in anemergency. You may think earthquakeswould be the most likely emergency;however, we have responded to homeswhere people have broken pipes withtheir cars, motorbikes, and even a lawnmower.Typically, utilities are located towardsthe front of your property; allowingeasy access to the meters. Water valveswill be a smaller pipe coming out of theground with a round handle, similar toa hose bib. Turn the knob clockwiseuntil it stops. Sometimes it may bea handle style. When the handle is“in-line” with the pipe, the water isflowing. Turn the handle 90 degrees,so that it is perpendicular to the pipeto shut the water off.Natural gas is delivered througha slightly larger pipe, normallygrey in color. Just as it comes out ofthe ground and before the pressureregulator box, you will notice a small,round valve. When on, the valve isin-line with the pipe. A quarter-turneither direction will turn the gas off.However, you will need a tool to dothis. We highly recommend that youbuy an inexpensive gas wrench (or usean old adjustable wrench) and tie it tothe pipe. Most propane tanks have ashut-off round knob. Turn the knobclockwise until it stops. REMEMBERallof the pilot lights on your gasappliances will go out when you turnthe gas off. Call PG&E or your gascompany to relight them.You should also know where yourelectrical panel is and how to use it.Label all of your circuit breakers now;this will save you much grief in theyears to come. At the top of the panel,is a single switch that will turn off allof the power at once. If you still havefuses, have an assortment on hand;always replace a blown fuse with thesame size. If there is a problem withyour electricity, such as a smoking outletor burning smell, turn off the powerimmediately, call 9-1-1, and PG&E.RUSSIAN RIVER FIREIn August, the Russian River FireDistrict welcomed Engineer StephanMercieca and Firefighter/ParamedicJason Clopton as our newestemployees. Engineer Mercieca willbe assigned to “B-shift” and comesto us from Cazadero Fire Departmentwhere he has been a volunteerfirefighter for several years. FF/PClopton will be assigned to “C-shift”and has experience from ForestvilleFire District and King AmericanAmbulance in San Francisco.Recently, our new ambulance wasplaced in service. The ambulance wasmade by Leader Emergency Vehiclesand built on a 2009 Ford Chassis. TheBoard and Staff of RRFD would like toextend our thanks to the Russian RiverRedevelopment Oversight Committeefor their efforts to secure funding forthis purchase. Thank You!Groundbreaking Ceremony for the new Graton Firehouse on Hwy 1169/2/10 - www.sonomacountygazette.com- 39