Fire Chief Meston heading to Sacramento to speak on fire response in the state

A hearing at the Capitol in Sacramento Tuesday will feature fire experts from across the state, and South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue Chief Jeff Meston will be part of the panel discussion.

The Joint Informational Hearing of the Senate Governmental Organizational Committee and Joint Committee on Emergency Management will provide an overview of California’s Mutual Aid System, discussion of emergency response to the North Bay and Thomas Fires, and a look at how mutual aid response can be improved through the local perspective. Meston will speak on what can be improved upon when mutual aid is needed in the state.

This hearing will bring together state officials from Cal OES, CAL FIRE, and fire chiefs throughout the State to discuss California’s mutual aid system, the 2017 fire season, and most importantly, the improvements the State can make to continue to make California’s mutual aid system the envy of the world.

For over 60 years, state and local jurisdictions in California have partnered
together via California’s mutual aid system to form an “all-hazards” network of
personnel and equipment capable of responding to local emergencies and major
disasters anywhere in the state. This extension of the concept of “neighbor helping neighbor” allows for the systematic mobilization, organization, and operation of police, fire, and rescue resources statewide whenever the response needs of an incident or emergency exceed available local resources. No community in California has sufficient resources to cope with every potential emergency it may encounter. By agreeing to assist one another during an emergency, the mutual aid system ensures that every jurisdiction will have sufficient resources to combat an emergency during its time of need.

While California’s mutual aid system is world renowned, the recent wildfires
demonstrate that California’s mutual aid system might be strained. As wildfires
continue to expand both in their scope and destruction, California’s mutual aid system must expand and change to be better able to protect California and its
residents.