[Solano County] Fairfield open to review of fire communication center consolidation

FAIRFIELD — The city is open to exploring consolidation of fire communications centers, says a proposed response to a Solano County grand jury report that the Fairfield City Council takes up Tuesday.

“Fairfield already shares communication technology with the city of Vacaville and Suisun City, which makes consolidation a possibility,” states the draft letter to Solano County Superior Court Judge E. Bradley Nelson.

Any fruitful discussion, the city adds, must recognize Fairfield’s staffing and resource constraints.

Vacaville City Council members at their Sept. 8 meeting supported evaluating a regional consolidation of dispatch centers if the review includes alternatives that allow consolidation within the financial means of affected organizations.

The grand jury in a June 29 report stated that fire agencies consolidation at a countywide level is an elusive goal that has been considered for more than 30 years.

Solano County does not have a system that allows multiple first responder agencies to communicate effectively with each other, the grand jury said.

Historically, Solano County consolidation difficulties have persisted partly because municipal development occurred independently when cities were more geographically isolated, the grand jury said.

Some cities, the grand jury said, have become embedded in their own organizational structures and practices.

September 14, 2015

Fairfield Daily Republic

By Ryan McCarthy