"Our Mission: We, the El Dorado Hills Fire Department, exist to serve and protect the Community through emergency management."

El Dorado Hills County Water District responds to Grand Jury Report

Click here to view the Full Response to Grand Jury Report

The Board of Directors of the El Dorado Hills Fire Department welcomes the opportunity to present current facts and information in response to the El Dorado County Grand Jury Report.  The Directors and Department staff have a long established practice of being transparent in all of our policy making pursuits and operational activities.  We are here to serve the residents of El Dorado Hills with the highest level of firefighting and emergency medical response resources possible, while maintaining a balanced budget and prudent fiscal management.  One of the primary focuses of the Board and staff is emergency response time.  Through thoughtful positioning of our four fire stations and 24/7/365 appropriate staffing of our engines and ladder truck, we are able to respond to 90% of our service area within 6 minutes.  The Department’s emphasis has been on maximizing service levels to the community which we serve.  We strongly believe that is our primary mission as your elected representatives and is what you the residents of El Dorado Hills expect of this Board.

Our response to the Grand Jury Report should set the record straight for anyone concerned on the financial stability and health of our Fire Department.  The changes that have been made in the last 6 months have been significant and were initiated and fundamentally implemented before the Grand Jury Report was released. The Board, Chief Officers, Administrative staff and Firefighters were proactive in collaboratively addressing the issues at hand and were creative in finding the needed solutions.

 Unlike other local districts, your Fire Department has not had any lay-offs, but rather took steps to encourage early retirement of senior personnel.  Through organizational re- structuring, the number of Chief Officers has been reduced by 3, cutting this staff essentially in half.  The engine staffing has been reduced from 4 Firefighters to 3, a change made necessary by the current economic conditions.  Our current Firefighters, Engineers and Captains wages and benefits are comparable to Folsom, our closest neighbor with similar services.  Furthermore, the recently signed 27 month MOU provides multiple negotiation re-opener clauses in the event that unforeseen further economic decay occurs. 

It is with great pride that we share our responses to the Grand Jury Report with the residents and businesses which we serve.  We are hopeful that by knowing the true facts about our Department, that any concerns raised by the Grand Jury Report have been completely answered.  Our main phone number is (916) 933-6623.  Our monthly District meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of every month @ 6:00 PM.  The community is always welcome to attend and express any concerns they may have.   We have a public comment segment at the front end of every agenda to promote public input.

John Hidahl

Vice President,
El Dorado Hills County Water District (aka El Dorado Hills Fire Department)

A Young Boy Shows His Appreciation
Response to Grand Jury Report