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A big Thank You to our local firefighters
A recent home fire in Emerald Hills made me grateful we still have professional fire agencies in this area. If you notice, there is an important remark at the end in the article. It explains why this fire didn’t become a wildfire – a constant threat in many county neighborhoods.
“In addition to Cal Fire, Redwood City Fire Department, Woodside Fire Protection District, Menlo Park Fire Protection District, San Mateo County Fire Department and the San Mateo County Sheriff were among the agencies that responded to the fire.”
[RWCPulse]
Number of law enforcement agencies mentioned: 1
Number of fire agencies mentioned: 5
If you call the police, your location determines who is in charge of your situation since law enforcement seems to be more territorial: it could be city police, sheriff department, highway police, FBI, BART police or sometimes just none will come. The fire response, however, is organized differently. They just send who is closest and available. And while law enforcement seems to pick and choose when and where to show up, fire fighters will work across agency boundaries and jurisdictions and try to be there each and every time. That is why five different fire agencies helped out with a relatively small house fire to prevent anything from escalating.
National estimates on residential building fires
The 2022 national estimates for residential building fires shows 374,300 fires, 2,720 deaths, 10,250 injuries and $10B in damages. Red Cross data seems to indicate that in most years fires kill more Americans than all natural disasters combined. And most fires started around cooking. If you can’t switch to an induction cooktop (somewhat safer), you might at least want to keep a fire extinguisher and a fire blanket in your kitchen and you also want your fire department on speed dial (it’s 911!).
After a home fire starts, it can take as little as 5 to 10 minutes until the house is completely engulfed in flames. If the fire department is too slow they will switch from saving your home to protecting the neighborhood. Time is always of the essence and emergency response time even more so.
What kept you so long?
“Firefighter paramedics on fire engines and the American Medical Response (AMR) ambulances respond to 9-1-1 emergency medical calls. The system is a public/private partnership between AMR, the fire service agencies in San Mateo County, and the County Health Services Department’s EMS office.” [smchealth.org]
In the more urban areas of the county, fire departments and their paramedics are aiming to arrive within 7 to 9 min. If needed, ambulances might hopefully arrive within 13 min. If true, these are outstanding numbers that would do very well in national and international comparisons. Remember to thank your local fire fighter on International Firefighters Day (May 4th).
See the thing with averages is that sometimes things just take longer than they should. And you might be the one waiting extra minutes. Because often these first responders take longer to arrive and very often due to at least one of these three reasons:
- Speeding Cars – those are the ones causing collisions.
- Driving Cars – those are the ones killing first responders.
- Parked Cars – those are the ones blocking fire lanes and hydrants.
“Revenge is a dish best served wet.” [Zarathustra]
To understand this better, I recommend watching any of the many Youtube compilations of how bad cars and drivers really are and what first responders have to deal with each and every day. There are also plenty of videos where firefighters run hoses through parked cars even though going around them would be quicker. Few ever feel bad for the drivers.
Crashes are No Accident
“Crashes Are No Accident.”
[U.S. General Services Administration Office of Motor Vehicle Management]
Even the Federal Motor Vehicle Managers know crashes are no accidents. They also know they are a result of unprofessional city and transportation management. Mediocre effort leads to mediocre results. As an example, the city hasn’t even started looking at AB43 (2021) and the lowering of speed limits. There is not one 15 mph school zone in Redwood City – something Menlo Park has already implemented and San Carlos, San Mateo, and San Mateo County are working on. Vision Zero is used as a marketing tool instead of an engineering goal.
People might not be aware that new daylighting laws AB413 (2023) weren’t necessarily written to benefit pedestrians (nothing ever does). Cities that already have bike lanes did not need to change much. These daylighting laws are really a benefit to first responders and especially long fire engines:
- Obstructions – AB413 will clear the street for emergency vehicles.
- Safety – the clear zone created by AB413 should reduce the risk of collisions with pedestrians.
- Improved Response Times – increased visibility will help fire engines and other emergency vehicles navigate through intersections more quickly.
Redwood City is falling further and further behind in all of this. Our city manager Melissa Stevenson-Diaz, her Transportation Director Tanisha Werner, and the city council need to catch up on traffic engineering. They could do far more in protecting our first responders against these threats. Redwood City’s Transportation Director needs to instill into her department how important the prevention of serious traffic incidents really is. And sure, that might be an educational challenge, but other transportation departments have been able to catch up to modern techniques – even in somewhat backward Bay Area.
Post. Scriptum.
Not even firefighter aircrafts are protected against collisions anymore. During the most recent wildfires in Los Angeles a flying drone collided with a firefighter Super Scooper in protected airspace. The man flying the drone is facing federal charges now. It should be handled as an International incident and attack on Canada – since the airplane was deployed by Quebec.
“This defendant recklessly flew an aircraft into airspace where first responders were risking their lives in an attempt to protect lives and property. This is not just harmless fun. This is incredibly dangerous. Seriously, what if that plane had gone down? It could have taken out a row of homes. It could have taken out a school.“
[ Chris Thomas, public information officer]
More Information
- FEMA: Residential Fires
- Can induction cooktops cause fire
- Two injured in house fire in Emerald Lake Hills
Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed in all blog posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Redwood City Pulse or its staff.
Thanks for this article. I have thought for a long time that all emergency vehicles should have cameras and severe fines should be enforced on people who do not make way for them.
Likewise, on traffic signals: yesterday 3 cars went through an ALREADY red light. I’m glad I saw them.
People are so wrapped up in their own lives they pay no attention to others. sad state of affairs!