Ledger-Dispatch

By Bethany A. Monk (bmonk@ledger-dispatch.com) =

Jackson Fire Department firefighters, = all=20 volunteers, fight a fire on Jackson Gate Road in Jackson as part = of their=20 ongoing training exercises in late April.

Photo by: Scott Thomas=20 Anderson

A wildland fire in Sutter Creek on = Saturday=20 brought both local volunteer and paid state firefighters, who were = able to=20 stop the blaze from spreading before evacuations became necessary = for the=20 residents of Sutter Creek-Volcano Road.

Photo by: Bill=20 Lavallie
They're paid by the call, but it's = only=20 pocket change. Amador County volunteer firefighters have long braved the = dangers=20 of blazes that have singed the county's hills, turned homes to ash and=20 recklessly torn through unexpected places, sometimes taking the lives of = those=20 in its path.

The Amador Fire Protection Authority, which = represents all=20 seven fire jurisdictions in the county, proposed a sales tax measure to = the=20 county's board of supervisors this week. If approved by voters in = November, the=20 half-cent sales tax increase would grant compensation for fire = protection=20 staffing. The tax increase would be a specific tax for fire protection = personnel=20 and not a general tax, meaning it would not come from or be affected by = the=20 general fund.

The AFPA has agreed on a formula regarding the = distribution=20 of the proceeds, according to a June 11 letter to the board from Terri = Daly, the=20 county's administrative officer. "Further, to maximize efficiency and=20 effectiveness, entities within the AFPA have taken steps to merge some = or all of=20 their operations," the letter says. The Ione Fire Department and the = Jackson=20 Valley Fire Protection District are working on collaborating to share = resources;=20 the Jackson department and Sutter Creek and Amador fire districts are = talking=20 about merging their operations as well.

During the board of = supervisor's=20 public comments session Tuesday, Jackson Vice Mayor Connie Gonsalves = told the=20 board that fire department response times will start slowing if things = stay as=20 they are. "It's very important you consider this and put it on the = ballot," she=20 said. "It's a very important matter for our county. We're all united = this=20 time."

If approved by voters at the November election, the sales = tax=20 increase would begin April 1, 2009, according to a draft of a proposed = amendment=20 to the Amador County Code.

The tax, officially called the "Fire=20 Protection and Emergency Response Services Tax," would be applicable in = the=20 cities and unincorporated territories of the county and is a special tax = "for=20 the purpose of funding fire protection and emergency response services = in=20 accordance with the Expenditure Plan set forth in this Chapter." Each = fire=20 protection or district in the county - Amador Fire Protection District, = Ione=20 Fire Department, Jackson Fire Department, Jackson Valley Fire District, = Lockwood=20 Fire District, Plymouth Fire Department and Sutter Creek Fire District - = will=20 receive an allocation of about $50,000 each year.

The AFPA board = would=20 distribute additional sales tax funds to departments based on each one's = respective population density and call volume, said Mark Morton, Jackson = fire=20 chief.

This would help fire districts and departments in the = county=20 "dramatically," said Ken Mackey, Ione fire chief.

"As our = community=20 grows, so does the demand (for firefighters)," Mackey told the Ledger = Dispatch=20 Wednesday. "Daily, there's not enough people in every area of the = county," he=20 said of the county's firefighters, which are all volunteers except for = state=20 firefighters. "Hopefully, (voters) will realize they're=20 overworked."

"With paid incentive, we'd be able to hire a paid = person,"=20 Mackey continued, adding that even one paid firefighter would help = immensely, as=20 volunteers have full-time jobs on top of the 10 to 20 or more hours a = week they=20 put in as firefighters.

The Ione Fire Department has 33 volunteer = firefighters, said Mackey, who has been a part of the department since = he was an=20 8-year-old cadet. He's been the department's chief for 13 years. He and = the=20 other officers at the department receive a stipend for their work. In = addition=20 to serving as the fire chief, Mackey works full time as a fire captain = in=20 Lodi.

"We are volunteers. We have real jobs," said Morton, branch = manager=20 at Meek's Lumber & Hardware in Martell.

There are 24 = volunteer=20 firefighters and six officers at the Jackson Fire Department, Morton = said. On=20 top of the calls they respond to, firefighters volunteer about 15 to 20 = hours a=20 week, he said.

"A full-time firefighter position will do nothing = but help=20 support fire services (in the county)," Morton said, adding that the = person=20 hired will be able to do the day-to-day work that the volunteer = firefighters do=20 on the weekends. This may include engine checks, hose testing, station=20 maintenance and pre-planning.

They spend a lot of time training = as well,=20 he said, adding that they have to have the same certificates as = firefighters in=20 larger, urban cities.

"We're losing volunteers monthly," = Gonsalves said,=20 adding that "we're borderlining not being insurable. We need to get paid = firefighters as soon as we can."

Bethany A. = Monk