June 30, 2025

Ross is a member of the Ross Valley Fire Department (RVFD). After the closure, the Town will be serviced by fire engines located in San Anselmo, Sleepy Hollow, and Fairfax.

Most of the calls the engine responds to are medical emergencies. Average emergency response times are expected to increase from 8 minutes to 10 minutes for the fire engine and 13 minutes for the ambulance. Every second counts in an emergency situation.

In 2021, the town council unanimously voted to close the fire station. The council embarked on a new Facilities Master Plan to rebuild the Civic Center complex for ~$21M. The cost to rebuild the fire station was deemed prohibitively expensive so it was decided to proceed without it. The council believed the presence of an ambulance in town would be sufficient to service most medical calls and RVFD would be available to answer any fire emergency calls.

Yes. For 100 years Ross has maintained a fire station within its city limits for good reason. The topography of the Ross Valley and rural road network make it difficult for first responders to act quickly. The threat of fire continues to increase due to climate change.

As trained EMTs, most of the calls the firefighters respond to are medical emergencies. Average emergency response times are expected to increase from 8 minutes to 10 minutes for the fire engine and 13 minutes for the ambulance. Every second counts in an emergency situation.

The Ross ambulance is managed by the Ross Valley Parametic Authority (RVPA) which Ross is a member of. The Town plans to rebuild the paramedic facility and is negotiating a new lease with RVPA to house the ambulance in the new facility when completed.

Fire risk poses different challenges that cannot be addressed by an ambulance. While firefighters are also trained EMTs, paramedic staff on an ambulance cannot fight fires.

For a medical emergency, the firefighters are typically the first to arrive and as trained EMTs, they provide medical treatment. The ambulance usually arrives after the fire engine to transport people to the hospital if necessary.

The Ross ambulance is shared across the valley and is very busy. The average response time for the ambulance is 13 minutes compared to the fire engine’s 8 minutes. Every second counts in an emergency situation.

The Town has already saved $10M for the Civic Center project. Using value engineering, we believe we can rebuild the fire station for the same budget the Town is planning to spend on facilities that do not include a fire station. We plan to reuse the existing building footprint including keeping the apparatus bays (built in 1995) to avoid costly demolition and site work.

In 2012, Ross joined the RVFD and agreed to pay 23.4% of the entire department budget even though the town is the smallest jurisdiction in the department. This amounts to $2.7M in the 2024-25 budget, which should come close to covering the costs of running our station if we rebuild it. Friends of Ross Firehouse plans to raise an endowment to provide auxiliary funding to the station as needed.

Additionally, Ross can renegotiate its terms with RVFD or look to join a different department like Kentfield or Central Marin Fire to provide staffing for its station.

The Town Facilities Master Plan sets aside land on the Civic Center site to develop affordable housing. The Town does not plan to develop or pay for the new housing itself.

The Friends plan supports this goal and does not interfere in any way.