District Mailing Address
142 S. Stockton Ave
Ripon, CA 95366
Telephone:
209-599-4209
EMERGENCY: 911
Emergency Links
For Local Emergency Disaster Information see the OES Home Page
Fire Links
For Wildfire Information see the CDF Website
Salida Fire Protection District
City of Modesto Fire Department
Other Links
Frequently Asked Questions about Fire and Emergency Medical Response Times
What is the Ripon Consolidated Fire Protection District (Ripon Fire)?
What services does Ripon Fire District provide?
What is an Advanced Life Support Ambulance?
Why is response time critical?
How does Ripon Fire ensure fast response times?
What impacts Ripon Fire's response times?
What funding is available for a second fully staffed station for improved emergency response?
Can't city monies or developer fees fund a second fully staffed fire station?
How can a second fully staffed fire station be funded?
Who would pay for the assessment?
What is the Fire District doing to ensure quality services for the future?
How can I get more information?
What is the Ripon Consolidated Fire Protection District (Ripon Fire)?
Ripon Consolidated Fire Protection District is the first responder for all fire and medical emergencies in the City of Ripon and surrounding unincorporated areas. The Fire District provides the only advanced life support ambulance stationed locally 24 hours a day.
What services does Ripon Fire District provide?
The District provides fire protection and response, and emergency medical response for every emergency in a 55-square-mile area including and surrounding the City of Ripon. In 1973, the District was asked by the community to operate a local ambulance service. Thirty years later, we continue to provide fire response and the only advanced life support ambulance service stationed in the Ripon area.
What is an Advanced Life Support Ambulance?
Advanced Life Support Ambulances provide emergency medical treatment at the scene of a medical emergency. Ripon Fire’s highly skilled paramedics are equipped with state of the art medical diagnostic equipment and are able to render the most advanced pre-hospital emergency medical care available.
Why is response time critical?
Responding to fire and medical emergencies is a race against time. In a life-threatening fire or medical emergency, many victims - if untreated - will die within minutes. To save lives, firefighters and paramedics must arrive and treat accident victims in less than 8 minutes.
Response time is the combination of "turnout time" and "travel time." Turnout time is measured from the time Ripon Fire is notified by 911 dispatch of a fire or medical emergency, to when we actually go "enroute" to the call. Our personnel have 90 seconds to be in gear and traveling to the emergency scene. Travel time is the time it takes to actually travel from a station to the emergency incident location. These two time measurements added together equal what is known as "response time."
To maintain a San Joaquin County ambulance operating permit, Ripon Fire District personnel must maintain an average response time of 8 minutes or less - for core community areas, or for rural areas in the district - 12 minutes or less.
How does Ripon Fire ensure fast response times?
Ripon Fire's 12 full time firefighters, 7 of which are paramedics, and 35 volunteer firefighters train constantly to ensure rapid emergency response. Our full time units maintain a 90-second turnout time standard. We constantly evaluate every step of our emergency response time including management of dispatch calls, staff turnout time, travel, and set-up to ensure speed and efficiency. However, the fact that we have only one staffed station covering a large 55 square mile jurisdiction means that we are limited in how fast we can respond. As our community grows, this becomes a challenging problem that must be addressed to keep everyone safe.
What impacts Ripon Fire's response times?
Travel, the availability of firefighters/paramedics and the availability of response units. Ripon Fire teams train to ensure maximum speed in all elements of emergency response time - but travel time and the availability of personnel and response units cannot be controlled. As Ripon grows, travel distances and travel times on busy streets impact response times. When multiple incidents occur, Ripon Fire must call upon our skilled volunteer units - and due to their volunteer nature, response time slows.
A second fully-staffed station would ensure faster response times for residents throughout our 55 square mile district. A fully-staffed station near the River/North Ripon Road area would ensure response units are staffed and available in the event of multiple emergency calls, and would dramatically improve response time to the rural and growing residential area north of Highway 99.
What funding is available for a second fully staffed station for improved emergency response?
Ripon Fire receives developer fees that can be used to build and equip an additional fire station. Legally, these funds cannot be used for operating expenses, such as staffing our stations with paramedics. Current operational funding is not sufficient to staff this station (nor our existing volunteer-staffed Station #2 on South Murphy Road).* To ensure adequate operational funding, it is estimated that a per parcel assessment of no more that $10 a month would be needed.
(* By state law, developer fees can only be used for capital expenditures, not operating funds. Additionally, as an independent district, Ripon Fire does not receive any operational funding from the City of Ripon.)
Can’t city monies or developer fees fund a second fully staffed fire station?
As an independent district, Ripon Fire does not receive any operational funding from the City of Ripon. Ripon Fire does receive developer fees which can be used to build and equip an additional fire station. Unfortunately, under state law, these funds cannot be used for operating expenses, such as staffing our stations with paramedics.
How can a second fully staffed fire station be funded?
To ensure adequate operational funding for a second fully staffed fire station, it is estimated that a per parcel assessment of no more than $10 a month would be needed. Any assessment to support improved emergency response must be approved by a two-thirds majority vote of local voters.
Who would pay for the assessment?
Local residents, business owners, as well as industrial and agricultural property owners would all pay an assessment to support improved emergency response.
Without a second fully-staffed station in our area, emergency response times will continue to slow as travel distances and the number of emergency calls increase. Should Ripon Fire's average response time average exceed 8 minutes, we risk losing our San Joaquin County ambulance operating permit and our critical, local ambulance service. Without Ripon Fire's advanced life support ambulance, victims of medical emergencies will have to wait for an ambulance to travel from Salida, Manteca or Modesto - a 12-15 minute response time - for emergency medical response.
What is the Fire District doing to ensure quality services for the future?
The District is pursuing strategies to protect service levels and response times, including asset management initiatives and continued use of volunteer firefighters to provide secondary emergency response support. The District is also studying the feasibility of placing a local ballot measure before voters in 2007 seeking additional financial support from the community. Only “essentials” are being considered for inclusion in such a measure. NO decisions have been made yet and none are expected relative to a local ballot measure until early 2007.
How can I get more information?
For more information about emergency fire and medical services or funding call 209-599-4209. And please remember that if you are experiencing a fire or medical emergency, dial 9-1-1 immediately.