Resolution of South County Fire

By Matt Grocott

New leadership in San Carlos and Belmont offers the opportunity to keep South County Fire intact. Dismantling that which has served us well for 25 years will be painful and expensive. Resolution can and should be considered.

We are obviously going forward with the process of reviewing proposals from other agencies with which we may contract for fire protection and paramedic service. That's fine, but I believe that once we have narrowed the field to one or two, we should weigh the proposal(s) against the option of continuing our relationship with Belmont and South County Fire.

Long term, I see us looking at an expanded South County Fire for fire protection and paramedic services, a deparment that incorporates three or four cities. The mix would likely include Belmont. If that is the case, why suffer a break up between the two cities now?

Additionally, we have seen the corrosive effect of talks as they are without a consideration of retaining SoCoFire. Morale appears low and we are suffering staffing shortfalls; firefighters have left because they see no glimmer of hope for keeping the department intact.

My belief is that with new leadership in both cities, on the management side and the political side, there is the opportunity to keep our shared fire department intact, providing us with safety and security as it has for the last twenty five years.