Threat of Fire in Hill Area Spurs Organization of Volunteer Department
features
In an effort to protect their growing community, citizens in the hills of Sonoma County, Calif., have formed, with a lot of determination and a conscious group effort, the Mayacamas Volunteer Fire Department.
This department, which encompasses both the Cavedale and Trinity Road areas, is named after the mountain range and the earthquake fault running through it.
Being a high fire danger area, minutes can make the difference between a moderate blaze and a conflagration, such as the big fire of 1964 which burned from north of Trinity Road as far south as the municipality of Sonoma.
Homeowners organize
The idea to organize a fire department started in 1979 when a group of homeowners formed the Trinity Road Homeowners Association to solve several local problems. Gene Reed, a homeowner and father, was there. With the increase in housing from six homes 10 years ago to about 80 today, it became apparent to him that there was a great need for fire protection that could be mobilized within a few minutes rather than the 20 to 40 minutes it takes for fire fighters from the valley floor to reach the area.
Reed called the first fire meeting, which 30 area residents attended in March 1980.
Eileen Frazier gave land to house a fire apparatus in a central location.
With much encouragement and help from the Dry Creek-Lokoya Fire District, the group started to work. Dry Creek, an all-volunteer group, guards the Napa County side of the Trinity Road area.
A lot of training, planning and paperwork was involved. A mutual aid contract was signed with Sonoma County. (All volunteer fire departments in the county have this agreement.) The Mayacamas Volunteer Fire Department agreed to provide protection for its area and in return, the county contributes dispatching service, certain safety equipment and insurance.
Money was raised to buy equipment by fund-raising events such as rummage sales, soliciting funds from the public, and donations.
Reed said, “I knew that the only way. we were going to get protection 24 hours a day was to get our own truck and people to protect us, then we would not have to rely on others. Other fire departments are going to worry about their own areas and under critical fire conditions, there may be as many as 20 to 30 fires burning at once within the county.’
Everyone has a role
At present, there are 16 active and 20 honorary members in the department. All are volunteers. All contribute what they can in time, effort, training, and money. Half of the department members are women. The active members participate in regular drills and respond when the siren blows. The honorary members cannot, for various reasons, always participate in fighting fires, but they are considered members of the fire department for their interest, dedication, and support.
Assistant Chief Jim Rasmussen lives in a central location and the fire siren is on his roof. The fire apparatus is kept temporarily on his property. There are three captains—all experienced fire fighters and skilled in organization— Rene Landry, Ken Reed, and Pat Whitfield.
All hands needed
“Sex, age, and size are no factor in our department,” Reed commented. “All hands are needed during the crucial first minutes before backup crews can arrive. I personally find that the women working here are more than able to handle the types of fires we fight. They are energetic and enthusiastic. They listen and they try. You can’t ask for more than that.”
One of the more experienced women fire fighters is Joan King. She has been active in the Dry Creek-Lokoya Fire Department for almost eight years and has also joined the Mayacamas district. Living at the top of Trinity Road, King is in a unique position to help on both sides of the mountain. An engineer with the group, she is trained and skilled in driving apparatus.
King recalled some of the exciting as well as the humorous aspects of being a woman fire fighter. The night before the interview, she spotted a fire near her home and called the Division of Forestry to report the blaze as type unknown. She then alerted the Marcamas Department and jumped into boots and cotton clothing, grabbed a shovel and went to work.
She said, “You cannot know how welcome the others are when they come to help, you are not alone out there. They come so quickly, so very fast.”
She recalls a dinner party she had some time ago. It was an elegant one with candles and crystal and she wore a long dress with a zipper down the back. Just as the guests were seated, the call for a fire came. She leaped up and yelled to her husband, “Unzip me!” It took a few seconds to change and head for the fire. The guests were long-time friends and understanding.
King regularly attends each drill and is skilled in both first aid and CPR, which are requirements for all Mayacamas fire fighters.
Likes camaraderie
Dave Carey and his wife moved to the mountain about three years ago, and being aware of the fire hazard, planned their landscaping and buildings accordingly.
“We both felt good about the community getting together for a common need, of pooling our resources and, most of all, taking responsibility for where we live,” he said. “I’ve been to a couple of fires. There is such a good camaraderie feeling within the group. I felt a community venture in the truest sense.”
When asked how he felt about working with women at fires, he stated, “It’s beyond men and women: It’s people working together. It makes no difference. We are all taking responsibility for where we live.”
Response to fires
Carey explained that when the siren sounds, all respond to the central location where the truck is.
“You need a minimum of two people to go there with the truck,” he explained. “Those who arrive later find the fire location written on a chalk board and follow either in their own car or in car pools. The important thing is to get there and fast—for that fire—for your teammates.”
Carey continued, “If I spotted a fire near my home, I would determine the size and kind if possible. Then I would call the State Forestry Service first. They are the professionals and have the equipment and training. The second step would be to contact Assistant Chief Jim Rasmussen. If he was not there, I would go down myself and activate the siren on his roof. Then I would wait until the first person came so we could get the truck going. This may sound like a lot of wasted time, but it’s essential and only takes two to three minutes.”
Women needed
Claire McCulloch has lived in the Trinity Road area for about five years. She was aware of the potential fire dangers in the mountains.
“It made a lot of sense to have our own volunteer fire department,” she commented. “When Gene Reed suggested it, he also encouraged women to join for, in many cases, it is the woman who is home during the day and is able to respond right away.”
McCulloch felt that being part of the group is both valuable and satisfying. She was not frightened when called out for her first fire. She felt only excitement at being able to help.
“It was only a small brush fire and there was no wind,” she said, “but I would have felt useful regardless of the size. All hands are valuable.”
Leslie Carmichael’s first call came at 1:30 in the morning—a large fire at Sonoma State Hospital.
“It was sad to see how big it was and how much they needed extra help,” Carmichael recalled. “I relieved on the hose.”
Getting pagers
According to Reed, the department is now in the process of acquiring radio pagers.
Captain Landry is a Canadian who has made this country his home. He has been a paid fire fighter in both Canada and the United States.
Asked how he, as a former paid fire fighter, felt about working with women who are perhaps not as physically capable as men, Landry said, “I was working with Leslie Carmichael on the hose at the Sonoma State Hospital fire. I will gladly and proudly work with her at anytime. There were no complaints. She backed me up all the way. If the other women have the same attitude as Leslie, they can back me up or be in front anytime. It was an honor to work with a woman like that. No, sex or size doesn’t cut it—it’s the attitude.”
Bought from collector
The original Mayacamas fire apparatus was purchased from a private collector who obtained it from the Vallejo, Calif., Fire Department. The volunteers borrowed funds to buy the 1940 Mack with ladders and two pumps, as well as other equipment. This truck was sold at a profit when it was found to be too old to navigate the narrow winding mountain roads.
With the profits from this, the group bought a 1964 Chevrolet pumper from the California Division of Forestry for $4,000. The main pump has a 350 gpm capacity and the auxiliary pump with motor pumps 100 gpm.
The most recent addition to the department is a 1959 four-wheel drive pickup truck, which is being converted to a brush fire truck.
In the six months since this department was formed, it has also acquired a generator, emergency lights, and a roof-mounted siren. Turnout gear, hose and other fire equipment were donated by various fire departments in the area.
The Mayacamas Fire Department serves the area from the Napa County line on the east to the Glen Ellen Fire District on the west, north to Nunes Canyon and south as far as the Valley of the Moon Fire District.
Land has been donated for a firehouse and to raise funds, the group plans, among other things, a rummage sale.
Photos by John W. Switzer
