Responses in Ross Valley, CA, Delayed by Station Closure

Response times for most fire and EMS calls in Ross Valley were delayed by two minutes, a report shows.

By Steven Rosenfeld

Source The Marin Independent Journal, Novato, Calif. (TNS)

Dec. 15, 2025

6 min read

The closing of Ross Fire Station 18 has delayed most fire and ambulance response times by two minutes, according to town consultants and the Ross Valley fire chief.

“The goal is not just to know the average but understand the consistency,” Chief Dan Mahoney told the Town Council on Thursday about response times in Ross and its surrounding hillsides since closing the station in July. “It doesn’t mean that is the response time that you’re going to get every single time.”

After 911 calls between July 1 and Oct. 31, fire engines arrived in 10 minutes and 56 seconds in 90% of 38 incidents, consultants found. Ambulances arrived in 14 minutes and 2 seconds in 90% of 36 incidents.

Mahoney then excluded four incidents outside the Ross town limits.

In 90% of incidents, the fire engine response time fell to 9 minutes and 34 seconds. Ambulance response times averaged 9 minutes and 52 seconds.

The lower figures were in line with the same consultant’s 2019 report that found it took 7 minutes and 55 seconds for the first fire engine from Station 18 and “estimated that closing the station will add about 2:00 minutes” to response times, a staff report said.

The response times were cited by both sides in an escalating dispute over renovating the closed fire station and Ross’ other municipal infrastructure needs.

In 2021, the Ross Town Council unanimously voted to close the station and embarked on a major rebuild of its civic complex for an estimated $21 million.

The plans include a new paramedic station, a police station, public works and town offices and a special needs affordable housing project.

That vote led to the formation of a community group, Friends of Ross Firehouse, which has campaigned to restore and reopen the station.

The Ross Valley Fire Department also has stations in downtown San Anselmo, Fairfax and Sleepy Hollow.

The Friends of Ross Firehouse, or FORF, gathered 329 signatures to put a measure rebuilding the station on the November 2026 ballot.

The council responded by commissioning several studies, including tracking response times since July’s closure. It will hold a town meeting on Jan. 8 where Friends of Ross Firehouse will present its proposal for renovating the station and the town’s team will present its public safety data and civic center rebuilding plans.

Friends of Ross Firehouse agreed to postpone the ballot measure effort until after the Jan. 8 meeting, Town Attorney Benjamin Stock said Thursday.

Frictions were evident at Thursday’s council meeting.

In her report, Mayor Julie McMillan announced the town signed a long-term lease on Dec. 4 with the Ross Valley Paramedic Authority in which the town agreed to build a new paramedic station by 2029 or sooner.

McMillan also said firehouse supporters have been spreading disinformation about the closure’s impact.

“Unfortunately, false information about response times and many other items has recently been circulated,” she said.

Mahoney then presented the consultant’s report and his analysis. He said four months of response data was not authoritative.

“It’d be inappropriate for me to comment on fire station closures, reopening or service levels,” he said, before presenting the data.

The ensuing council member questions, public comments and council discussion reflected the ongoing debate.

Several council members asked about the 90% standard used to measure response times. They said it was useful to distinguish between emergency responses inside town limits and those in adjacent hillsides that are under Marin Municipal Water District jurisdiction — which has a small fire crew.

Mahoney said response times to remote locations take longer, in part, because firefighters have to transfer gear to pickup trucks that can travel on dirt fire roads. The district’s fire engines are designed for pavement, he said.

“Isn’t it the case that with the Ross station closed, the engines have to come from San Anselmo or Kentfield, and whatever the response time is, we’re a minimum of two minutes more, whatever that number comes out to be — correct?” said Mayor Pro Tempore Elizabeth Robbins.

“Yeah, the travel distance will depend on where the incident is,” Mahoney said. “The closer the incident is to San Anselmo, or Station 19, the faster the fire engine will be.”

Bob Herbst, FORF president, said people suffering from cardiac emergencies need attention within minutes.

“If it’s your dad, your child who has the emergency, and the response time is above the average response times … is that OK?” he said. “It’s not right.”

“Unfortunately, despite your best efforts, what we’re seeing is emergency response times lengthening,” said Stephanie DeMarco, FORF vice president. “A fire response system functions like a network. Each station is a node that supports the others. You remove even one, and the entire system is weakened.”

“If you farm these things out to Fairfax or Kentfield, what control do you have over what Fairfax does or what Kentfield does?” said Barbara Call.

“Where will we be in a year, or two years from now, or three years from now, when we see a significant increase in population and building?” said Nancy McCarthy, referring to state housing mandates. “I don’t see how we’re going to meet that with what we have now.”

Several council members praised Mahoney’s presentation and said that more data — a year versus four months — would be desirable.

“Let’s get some more data, if we can, to get a better idea of where we stand,” said Councilmember William Kircher.

“No matter what the numbers are, it’s a longer response time,” said Robbins. “Is the community OK with that?”

“The trend is clear,” said Councilmember Matt Salter. “It is longer for an engine to have to come.”

“Maybe we should be building more capacity for what this valley will need in the next 100 years,” he said. “We know fire threats are going up. We know climate change is real. We know more housing will be built.”

“I’ll just try to conclude by saying that when we voted unanimously in March of 2021, the council knew that the response time would increase,” McMillan said. “We made the decision knowing the Kentfield station is 0.3 miles away and the San Anselmo station is 0.5 miles away, and the paramedics are staying in Ross, which is confirmed by our long-term lease.”

“People need to keep that in mind when you’re looking at these numbers,” she said. “I look forward to learning more after the fire station has been closed for a year.”