TASK FORCE SET FOR FIRE RESPONSE EXPLOSIVE GROWTH OUTPACING FACILITIES.

Byline: ALEX DOBUZINSKIS Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- In the wake of a report finding population growth in the Santa Clarita Valley is outpacing the construction of new fire stations, officials have created a task force to deal with the problem.

The report, which was presented to the Santa Clarita City Council, also found that a lack of stations has resulted in emergency response times that exceed the county Fire Department's goal of five minutes. But it also said the area has more firefighters than many suburbs of comparable size.

``I'd say Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley, they've been exploding in growth,'' said Michael Dyer, chief deputy of business operations with the county Fire Department.

``So we're looking forward to this task force (and) working with the city and Regional Planning to address any issues, streamline the process (of building new stations) and provide the best service delivery possible to the residents out there,'' Dyer said.

The county Fire Department is facing population growth in the already developed areas of the valley, even as new homes are being built in the outlying areas.

The department aims for a five-minute response time in urban and suburban areas, and within the city of Santa Clarita the department's response times were close to that goal last year, according to the report. Response times were five minutes and 39 seconds for fires and five minutes and 31 seconds for medical emergencies.

Response times were higher outside of the city, with those times above seven minutes in unincorporated areas. The report, which was prepared by Citygate Associates LLC, found that there are too few fire stations and they cover areas that are too large.

``Where we were behind a little bit was on the speed, because of not enough stations in the area because of the growth,'' Dyer said.

The report, which was presented last month to the City Council, identifies old developer agreements as one of the challenges for fire officials trying to keep up with growth.

Dyer echoed those concerns, saying older agreements favor developers by only requiring them to provide land for a station once a certain number of houses are built. If the Fire Department could get land earlier in the process, it could better keep up with population growth, he said.

The Fire Department has 10 stations in the Valley, with a total firefighting force of 53 on each shift. An additional six stations are expected to be built by 2010.

At a site around Sand Canyon Road and Sierra Highway and at another site near Copper Hill Drive and Decoro Drive, the department wants to use temporary facilities until permanent facilities can be built as part of the six-station expansion.

The task force created in the wake of the report is expected to meet within the next month.

``The Fire Department and the city are very much going in the same direction on this,'' said City Manager Kenneth Pulskamp.

Another finding of the report was that beginning next year, officials will begin to lack money for building new stations. By 2015, that will rise to a deficit of $66 million.

With rising construction costs contributing to the expected deficit, officials are considering raising developer fees.

City Councilman Bob Kellar said that response times should be as low as possible.

alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com

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