I. Overview

This policy encompasses guidelines for coverage by career personnel of the Diamond Springs - El Dorado Fire Protection District. It is recognized that extreme situations may occur when an officer may make exceptions to the minimum standards outlined herein.

II. General

A. A Captain or employee designated as qualified as an acting company officer (on the overtime tracking log) shall always be on duty. When suppression staffing exceeds two personnel per company (career or volunteer), the Captain may respond in a staff vehicle.

B. A minimum of three career employees of the Diamond Springs - El Dorado Fire District shall be on duty at all times. Exceptions can only be made by a chief officer or acting chief officer.

III. Suppression Company Coverage

A. The normal minimum personnel assignment on career-staffed suppression companies shall be two career employees of the Diamond Springs - El Dorado Fire District.

B. During periods of high fire danger or other significant potential for emergencies, career suppression crew s may be split to staff two separate companies. In such cases, volunteer personnel must be used to bring apparatus staffing up to two personnel for each company staffed in this manner. This section does not apply to instances when a suppression crew is responding two pieces of apparatus as a single company, or when personnel are ferrying apparatus.

C. Staffing may be depleted to one person only if not doing so would cause the district to fail at fulfilling its mission (ie. sending a firefighter on the medic unit to the hospital.

IV. Medic Unit Staffing

A. The minimum personnel assignment on a medic unit shall be one career employee of the Diamond Springs - El Dorado Fire District and one other Service Area #7 qualified fire suppression Emergency Medical Technician 1.

B. At least one El Dorado County Paramedic shall always be on duty on a medic unit.

C. Medic unit personnel may split and staff a suppression apparatus for a response or other assignment only as long as they stay in close proximity to each other at all times.

1. If a medical aid call requiring the response of the medic unit occurs while the crew is split, they will make a decision to either park the suppression apparatus for retrieval later, or respond both units to the medical aid.

2. Medic unit personnel are to make every reasonable attempt to remain available for medical dispatch when staffing a suppression apparatus.

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