Fire Districts Eye New Station Potential

With fire stations coming and going, the fire coverage area of Orinda and Lafayette can be seen as a vast, hilly checkerboard.

Officials from two local fire districts are looking over the checkerboard in discussions on a consolidation plan. They hope to maintain service and keep operational costs down. 

On the agenda of the Moraga-Orinda Fire District board's meeting tonight (Wednesday) is discussion of service levels, financial impacts and community concerns if MOFD were to consolidate the service areas of Station 43, on Via Las Cruces in the Orinda hills, with ConFire Station 16 on Los Arabis Drive in West Lafayette.

The latter station was closed last month by the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, which shuttered several stations in the wake of the November failure of a parcel tax to achieve a two-thirds passage rate.

A memo by MOFD Chief Randy Bradley for tonight's meeting notes that the consolidation of these two service areas goes back to 1999, when there was discussion of a concept of a consolidated station on El Nido Ranch Road near the Orinda-Lafayette city boundary. Bradley said ConFire Chief Daryl Louder in January approached MOFD about the possibility of a partnership in combining the two fire stations.

Staff has identified three for-sale properties that might accommodate a new fire station.

Bradley's memo (see PDF attached to this article) contains an analysis of service and finances based on

• The station would be staffed with one three-person paramedic engine company.
• The purchase of land and construction of the station would be equally funded by each agency.
• The annual operations of the station would be equally funded.

The Moraga-Orinda Fire District Board of Directors meets at 7 p.m. tonight (Wednesday) at the Moraga Library Community Room, 1500 St. Mary's Road, Moraga.