From Becky Steinbruner —
On KSCO 1080 AM
COMMUNITY MATTERS 2 – 3 PM, Friday
My Guest is Scotts Valley Fire Chief Mark Correira, discussing the new policy Scotts Valley Fire District has implemented to collect fees from motorists at fault of vehicle accidents where the Fire responders provide service.
- The district has signed an agreement with Fire Recovery USA, one of several firms that bill insurance companies for emergency services. Many auto policies include coverage for these services as part of their standard policy. When the Fire District responds to an auto accident and provide services, the responsible party’s insurance is billed for those services.
Services range from basic scene management (blocking traffic to prevent secondary incidents and applying absorbent for fluid spills) to more intensive operations such as vehicle extrication using hydraulic rescue tools. The billing rates are based on national averages and range from $618 to $1,859 depending on the level of service provided. Most insurance companies process these claims routinely without question. The Fire District can also charge for helicopter landing zone services and additional hourly rates for extended incidents.
The Fire District staff coordinate with law enforcement to determine fault. While this is usually straightforward, for more complex cases they obtain an involved driver’s insurance information and let Fire Recovery USA handle the claims process.
This is a cost recovery program. According to Scotts Valley Fire Chief Correira, “this program is well-established in other parts of the country and is gaining popularity, which is why multiple companies provide this service. It’s new to our area, with SVFPD being the first in the county to implement it. Hollister Fire is the next closest agency using this approach.“
If there is time, we also will discuss the new developer fee to fund added emergency response within the City of Scotts Valley.
BRATTON ON KSCO 6 – 7 PM Friday
Hosted by Becky Steinbruner
Guest Brian Roeder from Never Again Moss Landing will discuss the shocking and woefully-inadequate July 29 document released by the County of Monterey regarding assessment of the 2025 Vistra Battery Fire in Moss Landing.
On July 29, the County’s Environmental Health Bureau released its final, 343-page Preliminary Environmental Assessment report. The report examined whether the Moss Landing battery fire left off-site contamination posing long-term risks to people or the environment by analyzing nearby soils, sediments and surface waters.
In short, the report—prepared by Vistra’s environmental consultant Terraphase Engineering Inc.—found the samples did not pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment.
“There is no hesitancy on the Environmental Health Bureau standing by this report,” said Ric Encarnacion, bureau chief and director of environmental health with the County during a July 29 news briefing. “It was highly coordinated. A lot of experts in the room at the state agency levels, and holding Vistra accountable in this report.”
*****************
Both of these programs should be very interesting, and I hope listeners will tune in tomorrow!
Please call in with comments and questions to the KSCO Radio Studio :
831-479-1080.
Programs are recorded and available on KSCO’s archives at http://zbsradio.com/shows
Monterey Bay Matters 