Pittsburg Marsh Fire on Friday, July 8, 2022. Photo: PG&E

Stubborn six-week-old peat fire in largely inaccessible areas of Bay Point and Pittsburg

By Steve Hill, PIO, Contra Costa Fire Protection District

Aerial view of Marsh Fire on Monday, July 11, 2022, of peat burning for six-plus weeks along Bay Point and Pittsburg shorelines. Photo courtesy PG&E

July 12, 2022 – Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (Con Fire) today announced details regarding a peat fire that has been burning since May 28 in the waterfront areas of Bay Point and Pittsburg.

• The original fire began the early afternoon of May 28 in a homeless encampment near Suisun and Solano Avenues in Bay Point that burned to approximately 200 acres. The homeless encampment was completely consumed by the fire. No injuries were reported.
• The May 28 fire occurred in a largely inaccessible area with no structures or inhabitants and created a lingering and stubborn fire that has burned in the marsh since that date. The fire burned into large amounts of peat in the area throughout the ensuing six weeks, consuming additional vegetation and intermittently producing noticeable smoke, depending on weather conditions, but still threatening no structures or lives.
• On Saturday, July 9, driven by wind, the peat fire flared up extending into adjacent grassy areas of Pittsburg, threatening overhead high-voltage PG&E transmission lines and nearby decommissioned industrial sites.
• In spite of high winds at the scene, an overwhelming response from Con Fire, aided by Cal Fire, resulted in the fire being contained before it could extend into neighboring homes.
• Con Fire requested mutual aid from Cal Fire for water-dropping helicopters. Due to the threat to PG&E infrastructure, this request was granted.
• Before it was contained, the fire consumed an additional 74 acres, bringing the total area consumed by the fires to approximately 500 acres. As of July 11, the Marsh Fire is contained and continues to smolder in inaccessible areas of the Bay Point and Pittsburg waterfront.
• Peat fires are notoriously stubborn, can be virtually impossible to extinguish, and are often left, for lack of alternatives, to burn themselves out.
• Today, the remaining peat fire is producing significant smoke but presenting little fire danger to the surrounding area. It is NOT threatening structures; no evacuations are anticipated, as a result. The Fire has consumed most of the fuel adjacent to the community, increasing the margin of safety that would otherwise present a fire risk.
• The property owner has been cooperative, hiring contractors to mow and disk hundreds of acres to eliminate hazardous fuels.
• PG&E also provided resources to support the operation in the form of infrastructure protection teams and a large water-dropping helicopter.
• We share resident concerns regarding the smoke and are aggressively pursuing additional remedies for the situation with city and county officials, other jurisdictions, the property owner, and multiple regulatory agencies, in an attempt to mitigate the situation as soon as possible.
• Con Fire continues to monitor the fire scene and is prepared to immediately address any flare ups that may occur.
• We have coordinated with Contra Costa Health Services to monitor air quality in the fire area and, as a result, CCHS issued a health advisory late on July 11.
• For information on protecting yourself and your family from smoke, please visit cchealth.org/wildfire-smoke.

Infrared view of hot spots (in white) burning in peat under visible grass fire in Bay Point and Pittsburg on Sunday, July 10, 2022. Photo courtesy Cal OES

Firefighters extinguish fireworks on Monday night, July 4, 2022. Photos ConFire

Con Fire responded to some 30 fires across the District Monday evening, July 4. Of these, 9 are known fireworks caused with the vast majority of others suspected. Since the start of the holiday weekend Friday p.m., Con Fire responded to 70 fires, many caused by fireworks. #cccsafe4th

In the 10 p.m. hour, Con Fire firefighters responded to 11 grass and exterior fires involving palm trees, fences, yards & parks. Two of these known fireworks caused, remainder likely. At about 11:30 p.m. crews were on-scene at 7 separate fires across the District. #cccsafe4th

Confiscated illegal fireworks.

About East Contra Costa County Fire Protection District – The East Contra Costa Fire Protection District (ECCFPD) is a rural-funded fire district that currently operates 3 fire stations and has a 3-station deficit. The District protects a population of more than 128,000 across its 249 square-mile service area. ECCFPD provides firefighting personnel, emergency medical services (basic life support) and fire prevention to the residents and businesses of the cities of Brentwood and Oakley, and unincorporated communities of Discovery Bay, Bethel Island, Knightsen, Byron, Marsh Creek, and Morgan Territory.

About Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (Con Fire) — A recognized fire service leader – Con Fire provides fire and emergency medical services to some 625,000 residents in nine cities and five unincorporated areas across our 304 square-mile jurisdiction. With few exceptions, county emergency ambulance transport services are provided by Con Fire through our unique sub-contractor Alliance model across the District and beyond to include some 520 square miles of the County. In 2021, the District responded to more than 141,000 incidents of all types, including some 55,000 fire and EMS emergencies, and dispatched nearly 100,000 ambulances, providing expert medical care on more than 75,000 ambulance transports. The District, with 26 fire stations and more than 400 employees, is dedicated to preserving life, property, and the environment.

Lateral Fire Academy 57 graduates. Source: Con Fire

New firefighters to be assigned to stations across District, supporting staffing for challenging fire weather

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

CONCORD, CA – Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (Con Fire) announced Tuesday the graduation of its Lateral Fire Academy 57 and the addition of 27 new experienced firefighters to the District’s ranks.

Academy 57 consisted exclusively of experienced firefighters from other agencies across the state and region who chose to join Con Fire to continue their careers. The abbreviated eight-week course of instruction was designed to align students’ past training with Con Fire’s organization and procedures.

Beginning this week, the new firefighter graduates of Academy 57 will join crews across the District, bolstering ranks that have been challenged by the early arrival of dangerous fire weather.

Chief Lewis Broschard speaks during the Academy 57 graduation ceremony on Monday, May 23, 2022. Source: Con Fire

Speaking at Monday evening’s graduation ceremony, Fire Chief Lewis Broschard said, “Each of these 27 experienced firefighters chose to uproot their careers and families to make a life choice to continue their careers with Con Fire. We appreciate and value their decisions.”

Broschard added, “We took great care to select the very best people possible for this academy, from many qualified applications. I am confident we chose right. Congratulations on completing Academy 57 and thank you for making the decision to serve with Con Fire.”

The graduating firefighters underwent a physically and mentally challenging eight-week course of instruction using the latest firefighting and training techniques. In addition to structure firefighting techniques, these firefighters enhanced their knowledge and skills in wildland firefighting, rescue, automobile extrication, hazardous materials response, emergency medical services, and other techniques they can be expected to put to use in their first assignments as probationary firefighters. The training was designed to develop each trainee’s ability to function under stress and perform as a member of a disciplined firefighting crew.

The graduation ceremony was held at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts on May 23, before an audience of several hundred family members, friends, local officials and public well-wishers. Each graduate was “pinned” with their firefighter badge and sworn in as a Con Fire firefighter.

Scene of the fire set by an arson in Bay Point on Tuesday, March 22, 2022. Photo: ConFire

Quick investigative work results in two arrests within 48 hours

By Steve Hill, PIO, Con Fire

CONCORD, CALIF., Mar. 23, 2022 – Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (Con Fire) today announced its fire investigators made arrests in the last 48 hours in two separate, intentionally set fires in Antioch and Bay Point.

On March 21, a Con Fire investigator responded to an exterior fire burning in brush along the soundwall near Larkspur Drive and Hillcrest Avenue in Antioch. Nearby, Jason McGee, 27, a transient living in Antioch, who had been seen in the area of the fire, was identified as a suspect.

During questioning, McGee admitted to lighting this fire and a witness in the area further identified the suspect as having been seen lighting another fire the previous Friday. McGee was subsequently arrested for both fires and transported to the Martinez Detention Facility for booking on two charges of Arson of a Structure or Forest Land (PC § 451(c)).

On March 22, Con Fire investigators arrested Emanuel Serrano, 25, a transient, in the vicinity of two vegetation fires burning along Highway Four near Evora and Willow Pass Roads in Bay Point. The two separate fires originated along the walking trail next to westbound Highway 4.

As crews were arriving, a witness pointed out a subject who they had observed starting the fires. Investigators checked the area and observed Serrano running through a nearby field. Searching the area on foot and from above with an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), investigators located the suspect hiding in tall vegetation on a nearby hill where he was taken into custody.

Witnesses positively identified Serrano as the individual seen starting the fires. Investigators conducted an “origin and cause” investigation, which did not reveal ignition sources other than human activity in the area of the fires. Serrano was transported to and booked into the Martinez Detention Facility, charged with two counts of Arson of a Structure or Forest Land (PC § 451(c)).

Con Fire’s Fire Investigation Unit asks residents to help them fight the crime of arson 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, 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. Residents can leave a recorded message on the tip line about fire-related criminal activity in English or Spanish. Tips can be anonymous, and all tips are treated confidentially. But investigators sometimes need additional information, so contact information is encouraged.

Man brought to surface after rescue from drainage pipe in Antioch where he had been stuck for two days on Sunday, March 20, 2022. Photos: Con Fire

Some 50 fire personnel conduct rare, complex and risky rescue to free man in 30’s from where he had been trapped for up to two days

By Steve Hill, PIO, Con Fire

Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (Con Fire) led a three-and-a-half-hour, nearly 50-person rescue effort Sunday evening that freed a man in his thirties from an underground storm water pipe where he had been stuck for up to two days.

The rescue took place after passersby heard cries for help coming from underground and reported this to 911. Con Fire was notified at 5:37 p.m. Sunday of someone possibly stuck in a drainage pipe near the 3100 block of Buchanan Road in Antioch. Arriving on scene moments later, firefighters quickly determined someone was trapped and launched the rescue effort.

The complex, high risk, and rare “confined space” rescue was conducted by specially trained firefighter technicians from Con Fire and East Contra Costa Fire with support from City of Antioch Public Works and Antioch PD. Four Con Fire firefighters, connected by umbilical cords for breathing air and underground communications, made entry into the storm water infrastructure, locating the victim, clearing considerable debris blocking his path, and bringing him to the surface shortly before 9 p.m.

“As an all-risk fire agency, we train for rare rescues such as this,” said Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Fire Chief Lewis Broschard. “Still, this was a complex and high-risk rescue effort that required extensive specialized resources and the skill and experience of many professionals from across the District to successfully complete.”

Confined space rescues are both uncommon and high risk. They are highly complex for many reasons including oftentimes the unknown location and condition of the victim and the potential risks to both victim and rescuers. Confined spaces such as these are not intended for humans to occupy, consequently, they may be an oxygen-deficient environment not capable of supporting human life.

In this case, uncertain of how to successfully reach the man through several potential access points, the incident commander ordered two simultaneous rescue attempts from opposite sides of the drainage pipe. The first, which eventually proved successful, involved sending rescue firefighters into a nearby underground vault to make their way to and free the victim. At the same time, City of Antioch Public Works responders were directed to use a backhoe to dig down to the underground pipe on the opposite side of the victim’s location in case it became necessary to break it open to affect a rescue from that direction.

Con Fire personnel carry man to a waiting ambulance following rescue from pipe.

Con Fire firefighters routinely train to conduct restricted space and a wide variety of other rescue types at our Training Division on Treat Boulevard in Concord. In addition to academic training facilities, the Con Fire training campus has many sophisticated training props designed to allow firefighters to train in the most realistic environments possible for rescues such as this.

Rescuers were unable to determine the man’s motivation for entering the stormwater drainage system or his exact entry point, which is believed to have been some distance from the rescue location.

Once brought to the surface, the victim was evaluated at the scene, determined to be uninjured, and transported to Sutter Delta for further evaluation.

The Red Caboose is still standing but fire damaged the back side of the building including the office and kitchen on Monday, March 21, 2022. Photos: Allen D. Payton (left & all other except for, right) The Red Caboose

Initial investigation shows it started outside; an Antioch landmark since the late 1960’s

The fire damaged the ceiling and roof over the bar area.

By Allen D. Payton

An early morning fire burned much of the kitchen, office, and other parts of The Red Caboose restaurant in Antioch causing it to close down, Monday. A post on the restaurant’s Facebook page Monday morning by Judy Pence, who with her husband own the restaurant, but not the building alerted the public to the tragedy. The restaurant is located at the end of Fulton Shipyard Road next to the old Antioch boat launch, Rodger’s Point and the former Tommy’s Harbor.

“Well, I don’t even know what to say. We got the call at 4:00 am. The Red Caboose Restaurant is gone. Needless to say…. We will be closed until further notice,” she wrote.

According to ConFire PIO Steve Hill, it was a single alarm fire. ConFire was called at 3:26 AM. “We got on scene pretty quickly,” he said. “It was in the kitchen area. It’s under investigation. The preliminary investigation says it does appear the fire started on the exterior. When we got there the kitchen was fully engulfed in flames.” Hill said he will provide more details later once the investigation is concluded.

Damage to the office.

“The fire started outside and went through the wall in the office off the parking lot,” John Pence stated.  “It destroyed the kitchen. But unlike a lot of restaurant fires it didn’t start in the kitchen.”

Asked if most of the building is still standing, he said, “yes”.

“The deep fryer, the charbroiler, the flat top and the stove are still fine. So, it wasn’t a kitchen fire,” he pointed out during a tour of the damage to the restaurant. “The fire appeared to have started behind the office and then run up along the eaves to the kitchen.”

Asked if they’re going to rebuild, Pence said they own the restaurant but not the building. The building is owned by the Boccio family in Antioch.

Restaurant owner John Pence points out there was no damage to some of the kitchen equipment.

When asked if she plans to rebuild, building owner Phyllis Boccio said, “I haven’t even thought about it. My daughter has been down there for about an hour, and I’ll know more when she gets back.”

Both Boccio’s daughter Nancie Boccio and son, Dr. Jim Boccio, Jr. were on scene of the restaurant, Monday morning.

Asked how long the restaurant had been open, Jim said their parents bought the building in the late 1960’s. It had previously been a bar, he shared.

They said their dad, Jim Boccio, Sr. who passed away in 2020, brought the caboose up from Southern California and added it onto the then-existing building.

3/22/22 UPDATE: In a post on The Red Caboose Facebook page, Tuesday morning, restaurant owners John and Judy Pence shared the following message:

“Good Morning. John and I want to thank everyone in this amazing community for all the kind (mostly ) words, support and encouragement. The Red Caboose is so much more than us. It is community, friendship, a place to come and get away, be you, hang out, eat good food, and mostly, have fun. We have strived over the last few years to make it a welcoming and homey place. Our staff is the best and we couldn’t have done it without them. To say they are heart broken is an understatement. There have been suggestions to start a go-fund me to help rebuild, but honestly it is too early to know what is going to happen. There is still much to be done with the insurance and a lot will depend on what the landlord decides to do. Please bear with us as we sift through what’s left, deal with the insurance and just try to get a grasp on things.

Will provide improved fire and emergency response throughout county, particularly in East County

When complete, CCCFPD will absorb the firefighting staff, support staff, facilities, equipment of ECCFPD

By Steve Aubert, Fire Marshal and PIO, East Contra Costa Fire Protection District

MARTINEZ, CALIF., March 11, 2022 — On March 9, 2022, the Contra Costa County Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCo) unanimously approved the annexation of East Contra Costa Fire Protection District (ECCFPD) to the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (CCCFPD) and the dissolution of ECCFPD. The LAFCo action is the final step in the long-planned, collaborative effort to consolidate fire services in eastern Contra Costa County.

Benefits of annexation for residents are expected to enhance and expand fire and emergency medical services to East Contra Costa County while improving the efficiency, effectiveness, and economy of fire protection services in the region.

“The annexation of East Contra Costa Fire into Contra Costa County Fire, together with the allocation of Measure X funds, will double the number of stations serving East County residents, with additional stations opening as soon as this summer,” said Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors District 3 Supervisor Diane Burgis. “This has rightly been characterized as a historic achievement, resolving service deficits that have plagued East County for decades. When I had the opportunity to attend the graduation ceremony of 27 Con Fire recruits last week, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the brave firefighters that serve us every day, the many community leaders who worked long hours to achieve this outcome, and the residents who entrusted us with the resources to improve services.”

“Today is a day for celebration,” said Brian J. Oftedal, President of the ECCFPD Board of Directors. “The cooperation and collaboration of so many individuals has made this annexation a reality. Residents in East Contra Costa will now receive the services they deserve. Response times will improve, fire apparatus will arrive with a paramedic on board, and slowly but surely, improved ISO rating will help residents and businesses save money on annual fire insurance bills. For everyone that has been a part of improving public safety in our county, thank you.”

Finally bringing this decades-long concept of annexation to reality for our two fire districts will improve fire, rescue, and emergency medical service delivery and improve safety for our firefighters throughout the many communities we serve in the eastern portions of our county,” said Lewis Broschard, Fire Chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District. “As we move ahead to implementing the changes that will see the benefits of annexation become reality, I am grateful to our board of directors, labor organizations, and our fire district staff for their support.”

“On behalf of the ECCFPD, we are pleased that this monumental day has come in joining our two agencies to improve emergency services throughout East County,” said East Contra Costa Fire Protection District Fire Chief Brian Helmick. “Thank you to Supervisor Burgis and to all those who have supported us to reach this historical day.”

With LAFCo’s actions, CCCFPD will complete the operational and administrative consolidation of the two entities. When complete, CCCFPD will absorb the firefighting staff, support staff, facilities, and equipment of the ECCFPD, and the newly merged organization will provide improved fire and emergency services to the more than 128,000 residents of eastern Contra Costa County.

While both fire districts already work very closely on mutual aid assignments across current borders, each maintains separate operations, training, and administrative functions, annexation will allow for achieving economies of scale by bringing the separate operational entities under one administrative structure.

Annexation is also expected to reduce current burdens on the agencies’ busiest stations by increasing resources within the current footprint of East Contra Costa Fire District in East County.

About Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (Con Fire) — A recognized fire service Leader – Con Fire provides fire and emergency medical services to some 625,000 residents in 14 cities and unincorporated areas across our 304 square-mile jurisdiction. And, through our unique ambulance Alliance, we provide EMS and ambulance transport services to much of the remainder 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 across the District and beyond to include some 520 square miles of the County. In 2021, the District responded to more than 141,000 incidents of all types, including some 55,000 fire and EMS emergencies, and dispatched nearly 100,000 ambulances, providing expert medical care on more than 75,000 ambulance transports.The District, with 26 fire stations and more than 400 employees, is dedicated to preserving life, property, and the environment.

About East Contra Costa Fire Protection District — The East Contra Costa Fire Protection District (ECCFPD) is a rural-funded fire district that currently operates three fire stations and has a three-station deficit. The District protects a population of more than 128,000 across its 249 square-mile service area. ECCFPD provides firefighting personnel, emergency medical services (basic life support), and fire prevention to the residents and businesses of the cities of Brentwood and Oakley, and unincorporated communities of Discovery Bay, Bethel Island, Knightsen, Byron, Marsh Creek, and Morgan Territory. Learn more at www.eccfpd.org or on social media via Facebook (East Contra Costa Fire Protection District), Instagram(@east_contra_costa_fire), Twitter (@ECCFPD ) or our YouTube channel (East Contra Costa Fire Protection District).