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C.4

To:	Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Board of Directors
From:	Lewis T. Broschard III, Chief, Contra Costa Fire Protection District
Date:	March 9, 2021

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

2020 Assistance to Firefighters Grant - Heavy Rescue Wrecker

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 03/09/2021

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, Director
Candace Andersen, Director
Diane Burgis, Director
Karen Mitchoff, Director
Federal D. Glover, Director

Contact:

Aaron McAlister, Asst Fire Chief (925) 941-3300

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: March 9, 2021
,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Fire Chief, or designee, to apply for and accept grant funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Assistance to Firefighters Grants Program in an amount not to exceed $867,000 for the purchase of a heavy rescue wrecker.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The total grant application would be $953,000 with a 10% local agency cost sharing requirement. The federal share of the grant would be $866,363.64 and the District’s share would be $86,636.36. The grant award may be lower than the amount requested and will be for a period of one year from the effective date of award.

BACKGROUND:

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program objectives are to provide critically needed resources to equip and train emergency personnel, enhance efficiencies and support community resilience.

BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)

Acquiring a heavy rescue wrecker with a 60 ton crane will enhance and advance an already thriving heavy rescue program. The ability to respond with a piece of apparatus with this capability will greatly increase the options available to rescue crews. Relevant incidents range from motor vehicle collisions requiring disentanglement to responses in industrial and refining facilities located in the County.

A heavy rescue wrecker with a crane could have been used on the 2019 Nu Star petroleum tank farm explosions. This multi day incident and firefight included the explosion and fire of two 8.7 million gallon tanks. Once the fire was brought under control, the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District lacked the heavy equipment necessary to remove the heavy steel walls and lids in order to search for victims and conduct the corresponding fire investigation. The District had to wait for a privately hired contractor to bring in the cranes. According to the USGS the probability of at least one earthquake of magnitude 6.7 or larger in the San Francisco Bay Region is 72 percent, and the probability of at least one earthquake of magnitude 7.0 or larger is 51 percent. An earthquake of this magnitude has the potential to cause multiple building collapses in our jurisdiction. The heavy rescue wrecker can be used to save lives in this urban search and rescue scenario.