The Cost of Fire Safety in Unincorporated Clayton

My insurance agent calls me every fall to renew my homeowners insurance. So when he called last October, at first I thought nothing of it.

But this call was different.

He told me my insurance premium was increasing because of a fire station closure. My premium was going from $500 a year to just under $5,000.

That’s right, an increase of almost 1,000 percent.

The hike was driven, he said, by the shuttering of the on Marsh Creek Road.

My home was now more than five miles from the nearest station, putting me in a higher risk category. The next closest fire station is on Center Drive and Clayton Road, 5.2 miles from my home.

This two-tenths of a mile is costing me $4,500 a year.

Should the distance of two football fields make that much difference? 

Residents outside of Clayton proper are served by the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District. During the fire season, from May to October, the Sunrise Fire Station is funded by the state and run by the California Department of Forestry.

During the off season, the local fire protection district historically has paid the state to staff the station. But last year, as a cost-saving measure, the district opted not to keep Sunrise open year-round.

Driven by concerns over safety and insurance costs, a group of residents, led by Cheryl Morgan, formed The East Diablo Fairness Coalition.  

Morgan met with district Fire Chief Hugh Henderson in August to discuss the decision to close the station. 

“The chief told me that the Clayton residents of Marsh Creek and Morgan Territory Road do not raise enough tax dollars to pay what it costs to operate Sunshine Station during the non-fire season,” Morgan remembers him saying.

“I decided to go to the county assessor’s office to confirm this,” she said.

At Morgan’s request, the county assessor did a survey of all the Clayton properties along Marsh Creek Road and the Morgan Territory area. The assessor’s office determined that taxes collected exclusively for fire services came to more than $400,000 a year, exceeding the $377,000 it costs to run the Sunshine Station in the off season, Morgan said

The fire district's board met with the members of The East Diablo Fairness Coalition in November. The board reversed its decision and reopened the Sunshine Station.

But funding to keep the station operating is still uncertain, and the fire district's board is considering placing a parcel tax on the ballot to fill the funding gap.

Some residents feel that they are already paying too much for fire-protection services.

“We already pay a higher rate than most. It’s ridiculous that they want to raise the tax when our current tax more than covers what it costs to run the station,” said Clayton resident Tim Allen, who lives off Morgan Territory Road.

Fire safety is a concern for everyone, especially around the open spaces of Mount Diablo.

Just this past summer, a 500-acre fire raced up Curry Canyon. Luckily, it was controlled by the combined efforts of multiple fire agencies.

I have little difficulty with funding reasonable services for safety. However, in my opinion, this is not such a case.