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<br />Marian Meadows Rezone and Subdivision Final Environmental Impact Statement 1-21 <br />Public Services - Fire Protection <br />The Easton Fire District would be substantially affected by additional demands to provide fire protection. <br />The limits of the volunteer district to provide service may result in risks to life and property. All <br />alternatives would require a substantial increase in the need for volunteer fire fighters and equipment. <br />Alternative 1 increases the total number of residential structures to be protected in the district by about <br />30 percent. It also provides the greatest potential exposure of fire risk and potential impacts requiring <br />additional volunteer personnel, higher levels of training, and additional equipment. The steep eastern <br />portion of the site provides an area of extreme wildfire hazard because of its location on a slope and the <br />potential for wildfires to move more quickly uphill, heating fuels as it moves uphill, and reinforcing the <br />speed and heat as it moves. The potential for more than 200 units on this portion of the site places a large <br />number of residents at risk. The site is also at risk from wildfires initiated from human sources on the site <br />(as are half of wildfires), including wildfires spreading from forest lands on the north, east, and south <br />sides of the site. The single access provided to the steep eastern portion of the site also limits the ability <br />to escape a fire without interfering with fire response vehicles and equipment trying to move up the same <br />roadway to respond. A fire that started on the flat portion of the site and moved uphill could block or <br />seriously impede escape or access on the road. <br />Alternative 2 would reduce the risk to persons and property from wildfire substantially by locating all <br />development on the flat western portion of the site. The development of approximately 200 multi-family <br />units on the site would substantially increase fire exposure due to the type of units and the lack of <br />separation between units. Fire suppression in multi-family structures would require additional personnel, <br />additional equipment, and additional training for the volunteer fire force. <br />Alternatives 3A, 3B, and 3D would reduce the total exposure to fire risk and resources required of the <br />fire district, compared to Alternative 1, by reducing the number of units and increasing separation <br />between units. Residences on the steep eastern portion of the site would have similar extreme exposure to <br />risk from wildfires; however, the overall risk exposure would be somewhat less because of fewer lots, as <br />well as larger lots with greater separation between buildings. <br />Alternative 3C would have the least exposure to fire risk as there would be no development on the steep <br />eastern portion of the site, more space between buildings due to larger lots, and the fewest number of <br />buildings due to the fewest number of lots. <br />Alternatives 4 and 5 would have similar reductions to fire hazards as Alternatives 3A, 3B, and 3D. <br />However, the overall risk exposure for Alternative 4 would be somewhat less because of fewer lots and <br />the lack of lots on the higher slopes where escape and access would be most difficult. The overall risk <br />exposure for Alternative 5 would be even less than Alternative 4 because there would be no building on <br />any part of the slope.