The Kings County Fire Department and Kings County Firefighters, Local 3747 are saddened to announce the passing of one of their own in the line of duty. Fire Apparatus Engineer Keith Hernandez passed away on February 23, 2019 from job-related cancer. He was 30 years old. Brother Hernandez served the last 5 years with Kings County Fire Department.
Due to the downsizing of Palo Alto FD personnel along with the new limited response model (multiple apparatus staffed with just one crew at multiple stations) ; Mountain View FD has chosen to end the automatic aid border drop agreement between our two cities. This agreement had been working well for both cities and provided coverage that made everyone safer.
While many Bay Area fire departments are adding resources to enhance their jurisdictions overall safety; effective today the City of Palo Alto will be protected by fewer firefighters and reduced resources than yesterday. Today will mark the third major reduction in department personnel in the past five years and is being done in the name of “efficiency.”
Simple Crime Prevention: Anyone can be a target of even the simplest of crimes. Here are some tips to keep you safe in your everyday life: -Always be aware of your surroundings and who is around you. Take time to observe what people are wearing and what they look like in case you have to describe it later to someone. -Do not leave any items in your car that may be seen as valuable to someone else.