Fire Authority to utilize surplus U.S. Forest Service property

The United States Forest Service has a Federal Excess Personal Property program which allows the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to acquire firefighting property on loan from the federal government and also allows CalFire to loan that property to local fire agencies.

On Dec. 15, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, who are also the governing body of the San Diego County Regional Fire Authority, voted 5-0 to approve a resolution authorizing the county's participation in the Federal Excess Personal Property program and to authorize the county's Fire Warden to execute a five-year agreement with CalFire.

"I am pleased that we will now be able to borrow equipment we would otherwise have to buy," said Supervisor Bill Horn. "This means we can spend money in other areas of fire protection and emergency response, ensuring that our firefighters have everything they need."

The legal term "personal property" refers to items which are not "real property", or property associated with land or a structure on that land, and the Federal Excess Personal Property program loans government property and not property owned by an individual working for the federal government.

The U.S. Forest Service's Federal Excess Personal Property inventory includes trucks, tools, hoses, nozzles, generators, air compressors, personal protective equipment, aircraft, and aircraft parts. Since 1978 CalFire has acquired more than $200 million worth of Federal Excess Personal Property items with approximately 70 percent of the property being subloaned to local agencies.

The loan agreement term will be from Jan. 1, 2016, to Jan. 1, 2021. The U.S. Forest Service will retain ownership of the Federal Excess Personal Property, although the California Department of Motor Vehicles title for vehicles will include CalFire and the county as well as the U.S. Forest Service. The property must be returned if it is no longer serviceable or if the program agreement is terminated.

The county will be responsible for the cost of transporting the equipment and for maintenance and storage. The county may also incur some conversion costs such as allowing water tankers to be used as firefighting water tenders, and some apparatus may require painting at the county's expense.

The county would also be liable for any property damage. The county is required to maintain liability insurance for the borrowed property, and the agreement also stipulates that the county will protect the items from theft, vandalism, and weather damage.