Sierra Madre's Fire Department May Hire Additional Paid Full-Time Captain

Sierra Madre Fire Chief Stephen Heydorff told an audience at the meeting on Tuesday, March 15, that he would seek the approval of the City Council to add a new paid position to the . But Heyfdorff was quick to say that they had no plans to move toward a department fully staffed with all paid employees.

While the department is commonly referred to as a "volunteer" organization, Heydorff said they were making the transition towards a "combination" department, with paid, part-time paramedics and three full-time paid positions.

According to federal standards, a fire department must be made up of at least 85 percent unpaid workers in order to qualify as a volunteers department, Heydorff said. With the Sierra Madre Fire Department currently consisting of 60 percent volunteers, the department already qualifies as a "combination" force, Heydorff said.

The plan, which Heydorff said he will be bringing to the city council for approval within the month, calls for a single additional paid captain to be added to the force at a cost of around $120,000 per year.

Heydorff said the plan would help the department increase response times by  having a captain at the fire station 24 hours a day.

Last year, the department responded to 921 calls, 885 of which were in the "emergency responses" category, leaving only 36 calls for fires, according to city documents. The average response time for fires was 5:21, while the average EMS call was handled in 4:42.

Currently, the Sierra Madre Fire Department has 48 volunteer fire personnel as well as three part time and three full-time employees. Additionally, 22 part-time paramedics are paid by the department, whose budget came in at just under $1.4 million for 2010.