Camino, Calif. (Aug. 28, 2023) – El Dorado County Fire Protection District and Diamond Springs - El Dorado Fire Protection District took major steps forward on Saturday by launching a joint second battalion response. Now, within both districts’ response areas there will always be two chief officers on duty. This change will lead to several benefits in emergency response and district operations. The chief officers began staffing their new roles on Saturday from Camino and Diamond Springs locations.

This new dual-battalion model was made possible through shared service agreements between both agencies as well as existing cooperative relationships. Roles within both agencies were reallocated to facilitate this model without the need for additional personnel. Staffing two battalions will shorten response times across the vast areas both districts cover. Frequently there are multiple concurrent emergency incidents that require a chief officer response; having an additional chief on duty assures there is resilience in the district to answer a second call. These chief officers will also be able to experience a more manageable span of control during day-to-day operations. Each chief officer oversees a specific division within both agencies and this dual-battalion model will increase their capacity in those roles. 

The El Dorado County Fire Protection District provides fire, rescue and EMS services in the communities of Placerville, Shingle Springs, Pollock Pines, Camino, Pleasant Valley, Cool, Coloma, Lotus, Pilot Hill, Pleasant Valley, Oak Hill, Strawberry, and Kyburz. The Diamond Springs - El Dorado Fire Protection District provides services within Diamond Springs, El Dorado, and Logtown.

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