Sonoma County Fire District invites applications for:

Fire Inspector (Safety)

Annual Salary Range:  $84,900 – $99,000

The Community

Located less than an hour’s drive north of San Francisco, Sonoma County enjoys the world-class culture of the San Francisco Bay Area, while still maintaining its agricultural heritage and rustic charm.  Sonoma County was recently ranked as one of the top 100 metropolitan places to live, by U.S. News and World Report. With its award-winning wineries, miles of hiking trails, towering redwoods, and the pacific coastline, it is an ideal place to live and work. Sonoma County enjoys more-affordable housing costs and a more competitive cost-of-living compared to the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area.

The  District

Beginning several years ago, our district started the journey of annexation(merging) with several agencies into one with the singular goal of increasing overall services to our communities. Today, we serve the Town of Windsor, Larkfield, Wikiup, Mark West, Mountain Home area, Middle Rincon Valley, Bennett Valley, Bellevue, The Graton Casino, Fulton, Russian River / Guerneville, Forestville, Bodega Bay, and the surrounding unincorporated areas. As a newly formed agency, we have the rich history of great agencies with a new history in the making.   

The Sonoma County Fire District is seen as a leader in the fire-EMS industry. We have 84-line staff, 6 apprentice firefighters, 49 volunteers. The administration includes a Fire Chief, two Deputy Chiefs, four Division Chiefs, four Battalion Chiefs (shift, Volunteer), a Deputy Fire Marshal, one Fire Inspector, a finance division, and administrative support. The District encompasses an area more than 250 square miles, our ambulance serves 436 miles, with a population of more than 80,000. As we continue to grow, we have identified needs for increased staffing and infrastructure replacement.

The men and women of the Sonoma County Fire District serve our communities with pride, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. Customer care and community involvement is our culture. “We have it all” when it comes to diversity of response areas, including a municipal airport, commuter rail, large wineries, a large rural area, a variety of businesses both large and small, a large wildlife preserve, the Pacific Ocean, and one of the state’s largest casinos. The Russian River runs through the district, surrounded by large wineries, farmland, and open space. With that kind of variety, there are no “routine” calls for service in our district.

In addition to a modern fleet of Type I and Type III fire engines, our District has a ladder truck, rescue, ALS ambulances, boats, jet skis, an OES USAR and water tender, a partnership with REACH helicopter, and eleven stations. We also have a FEMA-certified rescue dog and handler.

The Position

 Under supervision and direction of Deputy Fire Marshal, the Fire Inspector will:

 Under supervision and direction of Deputy Fire Marshal, the Fire Inspector independently performs fire and life safety inspections of occupancies, conducts fire investigations, and performs community outreach.  An employee in this class performs technical inspections of buildings, facilities, grounds, and processes to determine conformance with codes and regulations; delivers safety programs on topics such as fire safety, housekeeping, sprinkler systems, and smoke alarms; researches, analyzes, and reports on topics related to prevention programs; understands District goals and policies and related duties as required. In addition to conducting fire safety inspections, the Fire Inspector may be assigned to conduct cause and origin investigations and respond to fire scenes as requested both during their regular workweek and on a stand-by/call-out basis, with the cause and origin responses taking priority over their inspection duties.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Conducts plan reviews to ensure compliance with local, state, and nationally recognized safety standards covering all types of commercial, industrial, and manufacturing operations.
• Discusses compliance problems with owner/contractor.
• Issues correction notices, stop work orders and other enforcement activities for code violations as necessary.
• Responds to complex requests for information and complaints.
• Prepares reports, collects data, provides annual fire prevention statistics.
• Makes recommendations and/or modifications to fire prevention and inspection programs, policies, and procedures as appropriate.
• Develops and conducts inspections schedules for commercial and industrial premises and structures.
• Provide technical assistance and develop internal training covering fire inspections and fire prevention for fire District line staff.
• Develops, coordinates, and conduct public education programs, attends periodic community events as the fire district representative. Develops and communicates with the public concerning fire and life safety codes.
• Coordinates/participates in fire investigations for origin and cause.
• Seasonally, manages fire season vegetation management programs and specifically fire hazard reduction, fire wise landscaping and weed abatement program.
• Assists Fire Marshal and Deputy Fire Marshal as a liaison to the Town of Windsor and County of Sonoma for the plan check and fire inspection functions.
• Attends and participates in professional group meetings, trainings, and conferences; stays abreast of new trends and innovations in the field of fire prevention.
• Respond to citizen inquiries and work to resolve difficult and/or sensitive complaints.
• Develop, promote, and implement community outreach and programs such as COPE, Firewise Communities, Sonoma County rebuild efforts, and Sonoma County Fire Resilience.
• Other duties as assigned by the Deputy Fire Marshal.

 Qualifications:

Knowledge of:

• Modern fire prevention inspections, management and general knowledge of fire suppression methods and procedures.
• Fire Investigation techniques and procedures.
• Applicable local, state, and federal codes and regulations, including rules of evidence, search, seizure, and arrest.
• Mechanical, chemical, and related characteristics for a wide variety of flammable and explosive materials and objects.
• Modern organizational and management practices as applied to the analysis and evaluation of programs, policies, and operational needs.
• Rules, regulations, and operational procedures of the Fire District (Lexipol) and Uniform Fire Code.
• Rules, regulations, and operational procedures of the Uniform Fire Code.
• Planning, directing, and coordinating fire prevention activities.
• Basic accounting principles and techniques.
• Safe work practices and procedures.

 Ability to:

• Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Perform inspections, enforce regulations, examine workmanship and materials, and detect deviations from laws, regulations, and standard construction.
• Make independent, sound decisions.
• Deal with the public in difficult work situations with tact and courtesy.
• Read and interpret maps, diagrams, building/plot plans and specifications.
• Enforce pertinent fire codes, ordinances, laws and regulations with impartiality and efficiency.
• Frequent use of computer, tablet, and other modern office equipment.
• Frequent operations of a class-C vehicle, occasionally towing a single axel trailer.
• Communicate effectively with others in person, in writing, and over the telephone.
• Analyzes data, interpret directions, procedures, and regulations, and develop appropriate responses.
• Deploys personal protective equipment as necessary such as particle masks, eye, and hearing protection, SCBA and turnouts.
• Resolves conflicts and respond appropriately to complaints from the public.
• Conducts inspections/activities/investigations over uneven surfaces under various environmental conditions.
• Maintains confidential information in accordance with legal standards and/or County regulations.
• Exposure to routine dust, noise, smoke, fumes, smoke, oil, grease, constant equipment vibration, machinery with moving parts, moving objects or other vehicles, varying climates, and temperature conditions.
• Frequent use of depth perception, peripheral vision, and color perception.
• Frequently lift, carry, reach, push, pull, twist and manipulate large and small objects.
• Kneel, bend, twist, squat, balance, and crawl.
• Frequent use of hand-eye coordination.
• Normal dexterity, frequent holding and grasping.

 Experience, Education and Certifications:

• Completion of a high school diploma or GED equivalent 
• Possess a valid California driver’s license and have a good driving record
• 2-3 years of work experience involving customer service 
• 2-3 years of related and increasingly responsible work experience in fire and life safety, prevention/inspections, or a related field 
• 2 years of Firefighting experience may be substituted for Fire Prevention experience
• Current EMT Certification
• CSFT Fire Investigation 1A-C (or equivalent)
• CSFT Fire Inspector 1A-D (or equivalent)
• CFST Fire Inspector 2A-D (Must be completed within 1 year of employment)

Highly Desirable Qualification/Education

• An associate degree in fire technology, science, management, administration, or closely related field is highly desirable.
• Bilingual
•  

Application and Selection Process

Application packet must include the following:

·         Cover letter

·         Signed employment application

·         Résumé

·         DMV printout (past 12 months)

Complete application packet can be mailed to Sonoma County Fire District, PO Box 530, Windsor, CA 95492-0530, or emailed to Kathy Washington, kwashington@sonomacountyfd.org The packet must be received by 12:00 pm on Friday July 21, 2023 at 8200 Old Redwood Hwy, Windsor.

Pre-employment process: Applicants who receive a conditional offer of employment upon successful completion of an oral interview and assessment center are subject to a background check including but not limited to; DMV driving record review, live scan, psychological screening, medical evaluation, drug screen.   

Applications will be reviewed, and qualified candidates will be invited to participate in an assessment center on Tuesday August 8, 2023.  The assessment center will include:

·         Oral board

·         Teaching demonstration

·         In box exercise

Compensation and Benefits

The District offers an extraordinary salary and benefits package including:

·         Annual Salary: $84,900 – $99,000

·         Incentives:

• o   Bilingual 3%
• o   Education incentive up to 5%
• o   Longevity begins after the completion of 6 years of service.

·         Retirement:

•  CalPERS Classic members - 3% at 55; employee pays 9% employee contribution and 1% toward District contribution.
• CalPERS PEPRA members - 2.7% at 57; employee pays 13% employee contribution.

·         Benefits: The District contributes up to $2,205.00 per month towards medical, dental, and vision plans. The District also provides $25,000 of Life/AD&D coverage for all employees.                                                      

·         Time off: Generous vacation and sick leave accruals. 

·         Holiday pay: 13 holidays annually.

·         Additional benefits:  Life insurance, long term disability, training allowance, uniform, and boot allowance.

Questions

If you have any questions, feel free to contact our Human Resources at (707) 892-2007 or kwashington@sonomacountyfd.org or our website at www.sonomacountyfd.org 

NOTE: Information contained in this announcement does not constitute an express nor implied contract, and the information provided is subject to change: It does not necessarily include all duties and responsibilities required of the position.