MONTCLAIR FIRE DEPARTMENT

The Montclair Fire Department is proud to announce the introduction of a new piece of equipment that will significantly assist in accomplishing our primary mission: saving lives. Both of the Fire Department's front-line fire engines are now carrying thermal imaging cameras (TIC).

Thermal imaging technology was initially introduced by the military to the fire service. This is widely considered one of the most important technological advancements in the fire service since the advent of the breathing apparatus approximately 35 years ago, which allows firefighters to enter deeper into highly hazardous environments in order to stabilize an incident. The cameras will allow firefighters to complete searches for victims in near-zero visibility conditions quickly and with an added degree of safety.

This technology will also assist in carrying out our second mission: protecting property from fire. In addition to firefighters using their training and senses to locate fire that has extended beyond the point of origin, the thermal imaging cameras will aid in finding, with a greater degree of accuracy, hidden and remaining fire that has burned its way into void spaces. This can minimize property damage and reduce the chance of a fire rekindling.

The purchase of this equipment was made possible through a grant received by the State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP). These non-matching grant funds are managed and distributed by the San Bernardino County Fire Department. The SHSGP funds are allocated based on the size of the city and the population served. The City of Montclair received $15,555 for fiscal year 2005-06.

The Montclair Fire Department serves a population of approximately 37,000 and has a service area of 6.4 square miles. Both the population and the service area numbers include the unincorporated County area in Montclair's Sphere of Influence. The Department is staffed by 41 full-time employees, a Fire Technician, and four Reserve Code Enforcement Officers.

The Department has two divisions: Fire Administration and Fire Operations.

The Fire Administration Division includes: the Fire Chief's Office, staffed by the Fire Chief and two clerical personnel; Disaster Preparedness, staffed by the Emergency Services Coordinator, a non-sworn position: a Division Chief who administers the Fire Prevention Unit; and the Code Enforcement Unit. The combined division is staffed by two sworn Fire Investigators, four Code Enforcement Officers, and a Secretary.

The Fire Operations Division includes: a Division Chief who administers Emergency Services which is staffed by 27 sworn personnel and a sworn Emergency Medical Services Officer; Training; Equipment Maintenance; and Building and Ground preservation.

The Department operates out of two fire stations, providing 24-hour emergency service to the community. The personnel assigned to Emergency Services are organized as three platoons of nine members each. In 2007, the Department responded to 139 fire calls, 2,680 EMS/Rescue calls, and 1,089 other calls for a total of 3,908 calls for service.

One Basic Life Support (BLS) Engine, one Advanced Life Support (ALS) engine, and one ALS squad comprise the on-duty response capability. There is a significant emphasis on fire prevention, hazardous materials management, and disaster preparedness. Suppression staff performs 78% of all scheduled fire inspections, and Fire Prevention personnel conduct the remaining 22%.

The Montclair Fire Department and the surrounding fire agencies have provided a form of regionalized fire protection, while maintaining strict autonomy and individuality, since the early 1960’s. This was accomplished, and has been maintained, through the use of comprehensive automatic-aid and mutual-aid agreements. The automatic-aid agreement dictates that the closest available units will respond to structure fires, regardless of jurisdictional boundaries. This allows the five participating jurisdictions to plan and locate fire stations as though no jurisdictional boundaries exist for the purpose of emergency responses.

While practicing a regionalized approach to fire suppression activities, all of the participating jurisdictions have maintained autonomy and local control of their respective fire departments. This allows us to tailor the ancillary services normally associated with the fire service, according to the needs, desires, and financial capabilities of each of the cities.