City of Tracy: EMS Fee shelved for now, Studying Fee for Non-Residents

Friday, November 26, 2010

City of Tracy: EMS Fee shelved for now, Studying Fee for Non-Residents

EMS fee kicked aside

At its most recent meeting, the Tracy City Council decided to shelve a fee that would have been charged to people who received “advanced life support” help from Tracy Fire Department paramedics.

By a 5-0 vote, the council completely rescinded the controversial measure that would have charged Tracy residents $300 and nonresidents $400 for such life-support service.

Councilman Mike Maciel said that the passage of Measure E, the half-cent sales tax increase approved by voters Nov. 2, made the paramedic fee unnecessary.

“I always thought that if we came up with something better, we could step away from this altogether, and I think in Measure E the voters gave us something better,” said Maciel, who supported the EMS fee when it was initially discussed and approved.

Councilman Steve Abercrombie quickly moved to strike the fee altogether, but at the suggestion of Councilwoman Suzanne Tucker, the council also unanimously directed staff to create proposals that would charge an EMS fee for nonresidents only.

“My biggest problem was having the fee for the current taxpayers, the residents of Tracy, the ones who are paying into the system,” Tucker explained.

Read more: Tracy Press Link

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

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Friday, November 26, 2010