Ross Valley Fire Service

The Ross Valley Fire Service was created in 1982 under a joint powers agreement between the Towns of Fairfax and San Anselmo to provide fire protection, emergency medical and related services within the Fairfax-San Anselmo area. Primary funding of the Department is through contributions from the two towns. San Anselmo's contribution includes the estimated cost of providing services to the Sleepy Hollow area that the Town of San Anselmo has contracted to provide.

The Fire Service is governed by a Board of Directors, consisting of two members appointed by each town and one (non-voting) member from Sleepy Hollow. The Authority is administered by the Town Manager (Executive Officer) of one of the towns, as appointed by the Board of Directors.

Ross Valley Fire Board

Barbara Thornton, Chair (San Anselmo)
Lew Tremaine, Vice Chair(Fairfax)
Peter Breen, (San Anselmo)
Mary Ann Maggiore, Chair (Fairfax)
Frank Berto (Sleepy Hollow)

The Board meets on the second Thursday of each month at 6:00 p.m., as follows:

January 10 - San Anselmo Town Council Chambers
February 14 - Fairfax Women's Club
March 13 - San Anselmo Town Council Chambers
April 10 - Fairfax Women's Club
May 8 - San Anselmo Town Council Chambers
June 12 - Fairfax Women's Club
July 10 - San Anselmo Town Council Chambers
August 14 - San Anselmo Town Council Chambers
September 11 - Fairfax Women's Club
October 9 - San Anselmo Town Council Chambers
November 13 - Fairfax Women's Club
December 11 - Fairfax Women's Club

Information:

Roger Meagor, Fire Chief
Joanne Lewis, Administrative Assistant

777 San Anselmo Avenue
San Anselmo CA 94960
415-258-4686
415-258-4689 Fax

Debra Stutsman, Executive Officer
Town of San Anselmo
525 San Anselmo Avenue
San Anselmo, CA 94960
(415) 258-4652

Contact us:

Staff E-mail addresses:

• Chief Roger Meagor

• Administrative Assistant Joanne Lewis

• Executive Officer Debra Stutsman (San Anselmo)

Board Members E-mail Addresses

• Peter Breen

• Lew Tremaine

• Barbara Thornton

• Mary Ann Maggiore

• Frank Berto

Americans with Disabilities Act Accommodations

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in any of the Town's programs, please contact the Town Clerk at 258-4652. TTY phone number is 453-4690. Notification at least 48 hours prior to the event/program/meeting will enable the Town to make reasonable accommodation to help insure accessibility to all the Town's programs.

PROTECTING YOUR HOME FROM WILDLAND FIRES AND FIRESTORMS

Could it Happen in San Anselmo?

The Oakland Hills, Malibu, Sonoma. Can those large wildfires occur here? The answer, unfortunately, is yes. The area surrounding San Anselmo is beautiful, but presents a unique challenge in the event of a large fire. There is no way to predict when or where a large scale fire will happen. However, there are ways to prevent the occurance of a major fire.

The Ross Valley Fire Department is very aware of the conditions that could lead to a disastrous fire. The combination of many factors, including gusty warm winds, high temperatures, low humidity, steep hills, dry vegetation, narrow roads, and densely populated neighborhoods, all could contribute to a firestorm.

Helping to Protect the Community

The Ross Valley Fire Department has done, and is continuing to do, many things to help prevent such a tragedy from happening. Throughout Marin County and across the state, there are mutual aid agreements in place which ensure, in the event of a major fire, other departments are automatically called in to assist. Also, if necessary, the California Department of Forestry is available to provide assistance including air tankers, helicopters and firefighting crews.

Our department, throughout the year, practices firefighting tactics to update and keep our skills current. There are also disaster plans in place which help with the town's preparation, by setting up guidelines to follow if a disaster occurs, whether it be floods, fire, earthquake or any other type of disaster.

There are ordinances that have been passed which help the department with Fire Prevention compliance. For example, there is one which allows the fire department to hire a contractor to clear the property, then bill the owner, if the owner fails to comply with the requirements of the fire department.

By now, you are probably asking yourself "What can I, as a property owner, do to help prevent a fire?" The following are some guidelines on how you can help. If you have any questions about the following, or would like the fire department to do an inspection of your property, please call 258-4686.

GUIDELINES FOR HELPING TO MAKE YOUR HOME SAFER FROM WILDLAND FIRE DANGER

1. If you have debris on your roof or in the rain gutters, such as pine needles, leaves, branches, etc., it is recommended that you get rid of them and keep the gutters clean. Those twigs and leaves could help ignite your roof should sparks hit them. Do you have tree limbs hanging over your chimney or roof? If so, they could be another ignition source for fires. It is a good idea to trim back the overhanging branches.

2. If you have a woodshake or shingle roof, you should consider re-roofing with Class A, fire-resistive shingles.

3. If you do have a chimney, you are required to install a spark arrestor on it. This helps prevent the sparks from flying out and igniting surrounding vegetation or trees. The spark arrestor should have no larger than ½"wire screening.

4. When storing firewood, be sure that it is stored in an area that is not adjacent to from your home.

5. This last guideline is VERY IMPORTANT! Be sure that your address is visible from the street. If there is an emergency, precious time could be lost if the fire department has trouble locating your address.