Contra Costa Herald

News Of By and For The People of Contra Costa County, California

Con Fire training class interrupted to rescue kayaker in Pittsburg Monday

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ConFire boat crew training class at the Pittsburg waterfront on Monday, March 22, 2021. Source: Con Fire

By Contra Costa County Fire Protection District

On Monday, March 22, 2021, while boat crews were training on on IRBs (Inflatable Raft Boats). They noticed a kayaker had capsized and was unable to right his kayak due to in-climate weather and a strong current.

Thankfully, crews from RB281 and FB285 were able to respond quickly and rescue the kayaker and recover his kayak. The biggest takeaway is that the kayaker was not wearing a life vest. Please remember when going onto the water in any watercraft to always have enough life vest for you and any passengers.

Events like this are exactly why training like today occur. Kudos to our crews for being heads up and responding quickly.

 

Firefighter, paramedic injured in drive-by shooting in Antioch Saturday night, suspect from Stockton caught in Richmond

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Both first responders in stable condition with non-life-threatening wounds; ambulance and police car also struck by gunfire; incident under investigation

By Lt. John Fortner, Investigations Bureau, Antioch Police Department & Steve Hill, Public Information Officer, ConFire

On Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, at approximately 8:51 PM, Antioch police officers were called to the 1900 block of Auto Center Drive on the report of a citizen requiring emergency medical attention. A fire engine from Contra Costa County Consolidated Fire Protection District (Con Fire), and an ambulance from Contra Costa American Medical Response (AMR) also responded to the medical call.

While tending to the patient in the parking lot near Auto Center Drive, a suspect in a silver SUV drove by the team of first responders and began shooting at the group. Afterwards, the suspect turned around and drove past the group again firing a second series of shots. A 31-year-old male Con Fire firefighter and a 58-year-old male AMR ambulance transport Alliance paramedic were caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting while responding to a serious medical emergency in Antioch Saturday night.

Shots were reported at 9:08 p.m. shortly after firefighters and paramedics arrived on scene. Both first responders and the original medical call patient were transported to local area hospitals at approximately 9:30 p.m.  The firefighter was shot in the foot and the paramedic was shot in the leg and their injuries were determined to be non-life threatening. An ambulance and a police car were also struck by gunfire.

Several Antioch officers gave chase onto Highway 4 as the suspect vehicle fled westbound towards the City of Pittsburg. The vehicle pursuit traveled through Contra Costa and Alameda Counties and ended in the City of Richmond after the suspect vehicle collided with a parked vehicle. The suspect attempted to flee from the scene of the collision, but he was quickly taken into custody by officers from Richmond PD and the California Highway Patrol. The Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Air Support Unit also provided critical assistance. A firearm was collected at the scene.

“Tonight’s senseless shootings are a vivid reminder of the very real dangers our first responders face, often side-by-side with our law enforcement partners, as they work to save lives across our communities,” said Lewis T. Broschard III, fire chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District. “We are grateful for the public outpouring of support for our wounded firefighter and AMR paramedic and for the work of law enforcement across the Bay Area to bring the perpetrator or perpetrators to justice.”

“As representatives of our firefighters, and in support of the police and EMS personnel we respond with on a daily basis, we are grateful to report both first responders injured in tonight’s shooting incident are expected to make full recoveries,” said Vince Wells, president, United Professional Firefighters of Contra Costa County. “I would like to thank the members of the community of Antioch and beyond for your words of concern and support regarding those injured in tonight’s incident. We expect to learn more as the investigation uncovers more details regarding this incident.”

Antioch Police Department detectives with the Violent Crimes and Special Operations Units responded to the scene, along with crime scene investigators, and took over the investigation. The investigation is still active, and evidence is being collected and evaluated.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925) 778-2441, or Detective Brogdon at (925) 779-6895. You may also text-a-tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH.

Vehicle fire damages Pleasant Hill gas station Thursday night

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Photos: PHPD

By Pleasant Hill Police Department

Thursday night, Feb. 18, 2021 at about 10:45pm, Officers were sent to the Chevron Gas Station on Morello Avenue for a vehicle on fire. The fire destroyed the vehicle and damaged the gas pumps and overhang. Everyone got out safely.

The fire was likely caused by an electrical issue in the SUV and was put out by ConFire.

Con Fire investigators arrest 7 arson suspects in busy start to new year

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First 30+ days sees arrests in 8 separate incidents in Antioch, Concord, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, and Walnut Creek

By Steve Hill, PIO, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District

Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (Con Fire) announced today, the arrests of seven arson suspects, in eight separate cases, in just more than 30 days in January and early February.

Working with law enforcement partners in Antioch, Concord, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek, investigators from Con Fire’s Fire Investigation Unit (FIU) investigated and arrested alleged perpetrators of eight separate, intentionally set fires that occurred in and around the county in January and early February.

“Quick work of our investigators in close coordination with law enforcement partners resulted in the identification of seven arsonists threatening our communities in January and February,” said Captain Ryan Graham, Supervisor, Con Fire’s Fire Investigation Unit. “Community involvement is critical to solving cases of arson and the residents of Contra Costa County can help protect us all by confidentially providing arson-related information to the Arson Tip line at 1-866-50-ARSON.”

Investigations continue in some of these cases with further charges expected to be filed. All the cases will be forwarded to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office requesting prosecution for arson charges.

Summaries of each of the 30-plus-day-period’s arson arrests follow in the attached fact sheet.

Con Fire’s FIU urges residents to help them fight the crime of arson across the county by calling the Arson Tip line at 1-866-50-ARSON. They caution residents not to hesitate on information that seems too little or unimportant to matter, adding some of the most valuable tips come from residents who were not aware what they saw was very important to the investigation of an incident.

At 1-866-50-ARSON, residents can leave a recorded message about fire-related criminal activity in English or Spanish. Tips can be anonymous, but all tips are treated confidentially. Fire investigators sometimes need additional information, so inclusion of name and phone number is encouraged.

 

Contra Costa fire agencies join forces with county Health Service to host vaccination clinics

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Along with other agencies gear up for ongoing series of weekly East, South and West County vaccination clinics; Week One sees 1,000 vaccinated at first two clinics

By Steve Hill, Public Information Officer, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District

Fire agencies across Contra Costa County are collaborating to host the first of many new appointment-only public vaccination clinics for eligible county residents. The combined, multi-agency effort leverages fire EMS and support personnel, along with law enforcement and other agencies, to make a positive contribution to vaccine distribution across the county.

The first of the new fire-service-hosted clinics took place in the City of Hercules Feb. 1 and 2. The Hercules clinics will continue to be operated Mondays and Tuesdays, dependent on vaccine availability. Additional clinics will also be hosted weekly in both east and south county locations.

Current plans, which are subject to change, call for vaccine clinics to be held in east county on select Fridays and Saturdays at Los Medanos College in Brentwood. In south county, clinics are currently planned for select Wednesdays and Thursdays at Bishop Ranch in San Ramon.

The initial goal of the fire-hosted clinics is delivery of 500 vaccinations per day, with each designed to be scalable to 1,000 or more doses based on vaccine availability and Contra Costa County Health Services (CCHS) guidance.

Regardless of location, all vaccination clinics across the county are by appointment only; walk-up or drop-in vaccinations are not available. Eligibility is determined by CCHS and criteria can be reviewed, and appointments made on their vaccine website.

“As providers of emergency medical services across the county, our fire agencies are proud to be able to increase vaccine distribution in order to help further protect the communities we serve,” said Deputy Chief Aaron McAlister, fire rescue mutual aid coordinator for the operational area. “This multi-agency collaboration includes fire and law enforcement agencies, Contra Costa Health Services, community organizations and many volunteers.”

For more on eligibility, and to make an appointment online, visit www.coronavirus.cchealth.org/vaccine. For residents without internet access, the Contra Costa Health Services vaccination call center is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily at 1-833-829-2626. Additional COVID-19 information is available at the CCHS multilingual call center at 1-844-729-8410.

Residents are urged not to call 911 or non-emergency dispatch numbers for vaccine clinic information and not to show up without an appointment as this will interfere with the vaccination process and potentially delay immunizations for the entire community.

Participating fire agencies include: Contra Costa County Fire, Crockett-Carquinez Fire, East Contra Costa Fire, El Cerrito Fire, Moraga-Orinda Fire, Pinole Fire, Richmond Fire, Rodeo- Hercules Fire, and San Ramon Valley Fire.

Law enforcement participants include the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services and local police departments in Brentwood, Hercules and San Ramon.

In addition to fire and law agencies, Con Fire county ambulance transport Alliance partner AMR is supporting these clinics as are many volunteer organizations. Supporting volunteer groups include Contra Costa County Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) and the Contra Costa County Medical Reserve Corps (MRC).

In Hercules, Valley Bible Church is making its facilities available as the clinic site there. Los Medanos College is making space available in Brentwood as is Bishop Ranch in San Ramon. These vaccination clinic locations, as well as many others, are listed and selectable in the Contra Costa Health Services online appointment-setting process or by calling the vaccination call center.

About Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (Con Fire) — A recognized fire service leader — Con Fire provides fire and emergency medical services to more than a million people across its 304 square-mile District area, and through mutual aid, in and around the 20 cities and unincorporated communities of Contra Costa County, California. With few exceptions, county emergency ambulance transport services are provided by Con Fire through its unique sub-contractor Alliance model. In 2019, the District responded to nearly 78,000 fire and EMS emergencies and dispatched some 95,000 ambulances, providing expert medical care on more than 74,000 ambulance transports. The District, with 26 fire stations and more than 400 employees, is dedicated to preserving life, property and the environment.

Suspicious death of North Richmond man in Tuesday fire classified as a homicide

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By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County, Office of the Sheriff

The autopsy to determine the cause of death for Virillio Patino-Cruz whose body was found in a North Richmond house fire Tuesday, took place Wednesday. The cause of death of the 23-year-old North Richmond man is listed as carbon dioxide intoxication due to smoke inhalation. The Investigation Division has now classified the case as a homicide. (See related article)

Anyone with any information on this incident is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600 or through Sheriff’s Office dispatch at (925) 646-2441. For any tips, email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call (866) 846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.

Investigation into suspicious death of North Richmond man in Tuesday morning fire

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By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County, Office of the Sheriff

Detectives from the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff and arson investigators from the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (CON Fire) are investigating a suspicious death that occurred in a fire.

At about 4:45 this morning, deputy sheriffs were requested by CON Fire to assist with traffic control at a house fire on the 1800 block of Giaramita Street in North Richmond.

Deputies learned that an unresponsive man in the home was earlier transported to a local hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.

The person is identified as 23-year-old Virillio Patino-Cruz of North Richmond. An autopsy into the cause of death is scheduled for tomorrow.

Anyone with any information on this incident is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600 or through Sheriff’s Office dispatch at (925) 646-2441. For any tips, email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call (866) 846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.

 

ConFire to hold Virtual Fire Prevention Open House this weekend

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Fun, Educational Annual Event Taken Off Concord Training Grounds and Into Residents Homes to Ensure COVID-19 Safety

WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 31, beginning at 8 a.m.

WHERE: Online at www.cccfpd.org/annual-open-house

WHAT: Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (Con Fire) hosts its Annual Fire Prevention Open House Saturday with a wide array of educational and potentially lifesaving presentations for every member of the family.

This year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are taking our normally live and all-day event off the Concord Training Grounds and into resident’s homes using a variety of information-packed videos.

Virtual open house content is available to media for reporting purposes ahead of public release. All open house content will be posted to the Con Fire website beginning at 6 a.m. Saturday.

We’ll appreciate media sharing this unique, COVID-19 inspired virtual event with Bay Area audiences using the attached flyer and linked video content.

ADDITIONAL INFO: Open house video here: http://bit.ly/2020OpenHouseWelcomeVideo

Images of past years’ attendees available here: http://bit.ly/2019OpenHousePics

CONTACT: Steve Hill, PIO, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, (925) 532-6512

About Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (Con Fire) — A recognized fire service leader — Con Fire provides fire and emergency medical services to more than a million people across its 304 square-mile District area, and through mutual aid, in and around the 20 cities and unincorporated communities of Contra Costa County, California. With few exceptions, county emergency ambulance transport services are provided by Con Fire through its unique sub-contractor Alliance model. In 2019, the District responded to nearly 78,000 fire and EMS emergencies and dispatched some 95,000 ambulances, providing expert medical care on more than 74,000 ambulance transports. The District, with 26 fire stations and more than 400 employees, is dedicated to preserving life, property and the environment.

ConFire offers advice for Contra Costa residents during severe fire weather

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Contra Costa County Very High Fire Threat Zones. Graphic: ConFire

THIS IS NOT AN EVACUATION ORDER. There are NO active evacuations in Contra Costa County at this time for the upcoming wind-driven fire weather event occurring beginning today and extending into Monday and Tuesday.

However, you may want to consider relocating ahead of this event. If you are uncomfortable in your home given this fire weather event, and you have somewhere to go that is not in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone or area susceptible to wildland fire (see map below and at http://bit.ly/CCCVeryHighFireZoneMap for details), you should consider relocating this afternoon. Relocation could be to a hotel or the residence of a friend or family member in an area outside of the local area being affected by the forecast fire weather.

All of Contra Costa County is under an NWS Red Flag Warning from Sunday evening through Monday morning. Additional fire weather and gusty winds are expected to affect our entire area Monday through Tuesday morning.

The fire weather we are forecast to experience will be significant. Any fire that starts will likely spread quickly.

Residents living in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones, areas of the wildland-urban interface, or areas with narrow streets and limited evacuation routes should ensure the following:

  • Your cell phones are fully charged and notifications are enabled
  • Your cell and home phones are all registered with the Community Warning System at www.cwsalerts.com – there is still time to do this
  • Your car is parked facing out of your driveway
  • You have determined alternate evacuation routes from your home to a safe area outside of the hills
  • You have a plan — you are prepared and ready to go as soon as receiving an official evacuation order

During the fire season, and particularly in this time of heightened fire weather, you need to have a plan to evacuate in the event of a fire. Do not hesitate if you are instructed to evacuate by law enforcement, the fire department, or receive a CWS notification or order to evacuate.

For information on protecting your family, home and neighbors from wildfire – including how to plan for evacuation – read and download our Residents Guide to Wildfire Preparation and Evacuation at www.cccfpd.org.

Communities and hillside portions of El Sobrante and San Pablo, Kensington, East Richmond Heights, the El Cerrito Hills and the west hills of the City of Richmond:

Winds are expected to peak between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Monday morning with gusts of approximately 47 mph and sustained winds of 31 mph. These significant gusty winds and elevated sustained winds are forecast from 5 p.m. Sunday through Monday morning. Relative humidity is expected to fall to very low levels further increasing risk in these areas.

Martinez (west of Berrellesa Street) and Lafayette (north of Highway 24)

Conditions similar to those for West County above are expected to impact other Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones.

THIS IS NOT AN EVACUATION ORDER. IF AN EVACUATION IS ORDERED NOTIFICATIONS WILL BE SENT THROUGH THE COMMUNITY WARNING SYSTEM (CWS).

We want you to be as prepared as possible given the severity of the forecast fire weather; we want all residents to have ample time to prepare.

 

President Trump approves major disaster declaration for California to help wildfire victims

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Includes grants for temporary housing, home repairs, low-cost loans for uninsured property losses, more

WASHINGTON – Oct. 16, 2020 – 9:20 PM EST – FEMA announced that federal disaster assistance has been made available to the state of California to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires from Sept. 4 and continuing.

The President’s action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Fresno, Los Angeles, Madera, Mendocino, San Bernardino, San Diego and Siskiyou counties.  Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

Federal funding is also available to the state, tribal and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency protective measures in Fresno, Los Angeles, Madera, Mendocino, San Bernardino, San Diego and Siskiyou counties.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Willie G. Nunn has been named the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. Additional designations may be made at a later date if warranted by the results of damage assessments.

Individuals and business owners who sustained losses in the designated area can begin applying for assistance by registering online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621- 3362 or 1-800-462-7585 TTY