COSTA MESA, CITY OF (14) - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

r s May 16, 1979 0, zz, t�iTY OF SANTA ANA CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE 20 CIVIC CENTER PLAZA • SANTA ANA • CALIFORNIA 92701 MEMO TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council FROM: City Manager SUBJECT: MULTI -AGENCY AGREEMENT, SANTA ANA, COSTA MESA, NEWPORT BEACH Santa Ana and Costa Mesa have had a boundary drop first response agreement for emergency fire response since September, 1972. This has increased the level of fire protection for the citizens of both communities in these af- fected areas. The Fire Departments of the cities of Santa Ana, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach are assigned common radio frequencies and are treated as a single area in the State and County's Mutual Aid System. This plan lends itself to the sharing of several functions. The adjoining areas of Santa Ana and Costa Mesa have, and are continuing to experience, very rapid growth. The area north of the Interstate 405 and East of the Corona Dorona del Mar Freeway located in Costa Mesa is being considered for continued intensive development. Because of the increasing need for fire services in this area, Costa Mesa is considering building an additional fire station to provide fire protection. Santa Ana already has a facility ideally located to serve this area. Discussions have been held at the City Manager and department head level exploring the advantages and possibilities of a joint powers agreement. These discussions include shared training facilities and staff, combined communications facilities, and both emergency and nonemerg ency Fire Depart- ment service. Completion of such an agreement would result in considerable monetary savings, increased efficiency and more effective utilization of resources. The results of these discussions have been very promising. As a first step toward the implementation of such an agreement, the Fire Department proposes to provide paramedic service to the area of Costa Mesa north of the San Diego Freeway under current mutual aid conditions and procedures. The number of emergency calls for this area in 1977-78 averaged 116 responses per month which should have no significant impact on the availability of this paramedic unit. Since the extension of paramedic service into the northern portion of Costa Mesa described provides the advantage of operating experience before entering into a formal commitment, and since the current Mutual Aid Agreement