Yes. Folsom Fire Station 35, located at (535 Glenn Drive, is the collection site for the city's Sharps Collection Program.

Learn more about the Public Sharps Collection Program.

Yes. You can stop by any of our fire stations, and all of our firefighters are all trained to do that for you. Please keep in mind that emergency calls may inhibit the firefighter's availability at the time of your visit.

No, the City of Folsom cannot accept payment of any fees by credit card at this time. Acceptable forms of payment are checks, cash, and money orders. For proper credit, please include your invoice number with any payment.

Yes. Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, Sacramento City Fire Department, and El Dorado County have similar fees.

Yes. A First Responder fee is intended to cover the costs of medical supplies used in the evaluation and/or treatment of medical or traumatic complaints. However, if there is an economic hardship, a fee waiver may be applied for by callingWittman Enterprises at 800-906-6552.

The fee will be submitted with the ambulance transport charge to your insurance company, Medi-Care, Medi-Cal, or yourself if you are uninsured. If you are billed and there is an economic hardship, a fee waiver may be applied for by calling Wittman Enterprises at 800-906-6552.

Non-urgent matters can be addressed by the administrative support staff during normal business hours at 916-461-6300.

No, you will not be billed if you need help off the floor or similar types of assistance where no major injury exists, no medical complaint exists, or there is no new onset of cognitive impairment.

Yes. California law requires carbon monoxide detectors in single-family homes. For information about the law and the types of detectors, view this State Bulletin.

The city's Code Enforcement Division is responsible for enforcement of this aspect of the California Building and Residential Codes.

No. That is not true. Fire extinguishers must be serviced annually by a licensed service company of your choice. If an out-of-date extinguisher is found during a fire department inspection, you will be given a correction notice with a specified time to make the correction.

Unfortunately, there have been a number of fraudulent practices, including people impersonating fire inspectors or fire protection companies and demanding immediate payment for their inspection or service.

For tips on avoiding these scams, download our information sheet, Avoiding Fire Protection Service Fraud.

Health & Safety Code Section 104113 mandates that health clubs have an AED.

Barbeques used in multi-family housing are regulated under California Fire Code Section 308. This section allows the use of charcoal-burning barbeques and propane (LPG) barbeques with a gas container no larger than one pound on apartment or condominium balconies only if the building and the balcony is protected by an automatic fire sprinkler system. Propane (LPG) barbeques with a gas container capacity of over one pound are prohibited on balconies of multi-family housing (Note: the container size on most common "backyard" LPG barbeques is 20 pounds.) If barbeques are used, they must be located away from combustible materials. We recommend that you keep a fire extinguisher immediately accessible in case of fire.

Sacramento County air quality regulations govern the burning of any solid fuel, including wood, manufactured logs, or pellets in indoor or outdoor fireplaces, wood stoves, firepits, and chimineas. Before burning, check for restrictions by calling 1-877-662-8765 or visit the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District website.

Burning trash or any material that creates noxious odors is prohibited by the Folsom Municipal Code.

Folsom Fire Code, Section 8.36.020, International Fire Code-Adopted by Reference and Section 8.36.080 Amendments, Additions, and Deletions, Sub-Section 315.4 Outside Storage states: 'Outside Storage of combustible materials shall not be located within 10 feet of a structure or lot line.'

The California Fire Code, Section 315.4 Outside Storage, allows two exceptions to the 10-foot requirement:

1. The separation distance is allowed to be reduced to three feet for storage not exceeding six feet in height.
2. The separation distance is allowed to be reduced where the fire code official determines that no hazard to the adjoining property exists.

Many city lots have a side yard setback dimension of only five feet. Therefore, the Fire Chief will allow only city-owned containers (garbage, recycling, and green waste) to be stored in the side yard when it is not wide enough to meet the requirements listed above.

The storage must allow for an emergency responder to walk alongside the structure and an occupant to safety exit to a public way. No other combustible storage is allowed in a side yard unless if it meets the requirements listed above.

A Fire Prevention Officer will issue you an inspection report detailing all the conditions that violate the fire code and could cause a fire and endanger life and/or property. These deficiencies must be corrected immediately.

A reinspection to verify the abatement of the deficiencies noted will be coordinated with the business owner and the Fire Prevention Officer. Failure to correct the deficiencies prior to the first reinspection date will result in the issuance of a final correction notice and another date will be identified to verify compliance.

Deficiencies not corrected on the second reinspection may result in monetary civil penalties in accordance with FMC Chapter 1.09. These civil penalties will be above and beyond the inspection fees. Additionally, if the violation is of a serious life safety nature or shows a pattern of non-compliance, a criminal citation may be issued.

No. The Fire Department does not perform the annual servicing of fire extinguishers required by the State Fire Marshal. However, this correction might be noted as part of a Fire Department inspection.

Fire extinguishers must be serviced or recharged by a state-licensed company. You can find one by searching for "fire extinguishers" online. We do not recommend any one company.

Inspectors inspect commercial buildings, facilities, and multi-family housing units. The purpose of the inspection is to:

• Reduce the risk to people
• Educate business and property owners about fire and life safety
• Identify and correct fire code violations
• Lessen the demand on public emergency services by reducing fire and life safety risks

Complete our Fire Department Permit Application Form.

Yes. All submittals for plan review or permits for new construction or alterations to existing buildings, including fire protection systems, must be submitted at the Permit and Planning counter at City Hall, 50 Natoma Street, 916-461-6201.

For more information, visit our Planning Counter page.

"Safe and Sane" fireworks can be used throughout the City of Folsom from noon on June 28 through midnight on July 4, with some exceptions. Fireworks are not allowed in most city parks or on bike trails. They can be used on public streets, as well as in your yard or driveway. Fireworks are prohibited in these locations.

You can also find information on the main Fireworks page.

Download the Hydrant Flow Test Request Form. You can hand deliver or mail the form to the address provided. A fee of $223 must accompany the request.

The fee for a fire and life safety inspection is based on a schedule that considers type, occupancy use, and square footage, and includes the initial inspection and one reinspection. Additional fees may be charged for each subsequent reinspection. Some businesses may also require a fire code operational permit for processes considered hazardous by the fire code.

Fire Department Fees

The purpose of establishing fees for fire safety inspections is to recover the cost of the service in accordance with the fire code.

The frequency of inspections for a business will vary depending on the types of risks associated with the business, and as required by state law.

It depends. Fire Prevention Officers may stop by your business as part of a regular inspection route. If it is an inconvenient time for an inspection, the Fire Prevention Officer will schedule a more convenient time. If you are a new business owner or require fire code use permits, call the City of Folsom Fire Prevention Division at 916-461-6300 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. You will be referred to the Fire Prevention Officer responsible for the inspection of your business to determine whether one is needed at this time.

Information regarding outstanding violations can be obtained by visiting the City Clerk's website and filling out a Public Records Request Form.

Call the City of Folsom Fire Department at 916-461-6300 or email your question to folsomfire@folsom.ca.us.

Certain activities require a separate permit from the Fire Department. An example of these activities would be erecting a tent or canopy, operating a carnival or fair, operating a special amusement building, and operating a public assembly. The Fire Department charges a fee for these permits.

Fire Department Permit Application Form

You will need to submit a Fire Code Permit Application form. The completed form and applicable fees can be submitted at our administrative offices at Station 35, 535 Glenn Drive.

Fire Department Permit Application Form

Fire apparatus access road turns must be designed for a 25-foot inside turning radius and a 50-foot outside turning radius.

You can leave a detailed message on the Fire Safety line at 916-461-6315. The owner of the property will then receive a notice to comply with code requirements. After an allotted time, if the owner does not comply, the weeds will be abated by a contractor and the owner will be liable to reimburse the city for the associated costs.

The City of Folsom Fire Prevention Division is located at 535 Glenn Drive. The Fire Prevention Division officers are frequently in the field. If you'd like to stop by and speak with a staff member, please make an appointment first to ensure that someone will be there. You can call a Prevention Officer at 916-461-6318.

Folsom's ambulances are currently staffed by firefighter-paramedics—personnel certified in both fire suppression and advanced life support. Going forward, two of the department's front-line ambulances will be staffed by single-role emergency medical technicians and paramedics, who are licensed and accredited prehospital care providers without firefighting certification. One front-line ambulance will remain staffed by dual-role firefighter-paramedics.

Fire engines and truck companies are not changing; they will continue to be staffed by firefighter-EMTs and firefighter-paramedics.

No. They hold the same California paramedic license and Sacramento County accreditation required of any paramedic operating in this county. The scope of practice, medications, protocols and medical direction are identical.

The difference is not medical training—it is that they are not trained as firefighters, as they will not perform fire suppression duties on an ambulance.

Yes. Advanced life support will continue to arrive on the first-arriving unit, which in most cases is an engine company staffed by a firefighter-paramedic. The ambulance arrives with an additional EMT and paramedic, providing extra personnel as well as patient transport capability.

In practice, very little—and the change delivers substantially more than it gives up.

A transport unit is dispatched to a working structure fire to monitor and rehabilitate working members, treat civilian fire victims, and provide immediate advanced life support transport for any firefighter who is injured, exhausted or overcome. That is not a secondary role; it is a required function at every working incident and the reason the unit is on the assignment. A crew performing it is fully committed to its task.

This is ordinary fireground doctrine, not a compromise. Engine, truck and rescue companies arrive with distinct missions, equipment and priorities; effectiveness depends on each executing its specific assignment rather than converging on the same one. A truck company is not idle because it is laddering and ventilating instead of advancing a hose line. The transport unit's assignment is patient care. There is no operational conflict.

There is also a reliability gain. A crew held in reserve for possible reassignment, or committed to a suppression task, is a crew that may not be available the moment a firefighter goes down. A dedicated transport unit remains uncommitted and immediately ready.

If the objective is greater fire attack capability, the answer is more engine companies and more suppression personnel—which is what this proposal delivers. Holding ambulances in reserve as a contingent suppression pool does not achieve it, because a transport unit committed to fire attack is a transport unit unavailable for transport.

The real trade-off is daily staffing flexibility. Single-role personnel cannot backfill a suppression vacancy or cover leave on an engine or truck company. Coverage for the 27 firefighter dual-role positions must be managed within that group. That is a genuine constraint, and it is the one the department must plan around.

The paramedic workforce is under strain nationally, and California is no exception. If recruitment falls short, ambulances will be staffed through overtime or by returning firefighter-paramedics to ambulance assignments temporarily—the same contingency tools available under the previous model.

While this risk is real, it is the same risk the current model carries, but previously concentrated in a much smaller candidate pool. By recruiting single-role EMTs and paramedics, we tap into a significantly deeper applicant pool. Moving forward, the department will actively hire from both candidate pools: single-role and dual-role.

This is a legitimate clinical concern that the department takes seriously. Firefighter-paramedics will maintain their paramedic licensure and accreditation, respond to medical calls as first-arriving ALS providers, and complete mandatory continuing education. However, patient contact volume for an individual firefighter-paramedic on an engine or truck company will likely decrease.

The department is addressing this through rigorous skills maintenance and—under the memorandum of understanding—the ability for firefighter-paramedics to request temporary assignment to a transport unit. Clinical performance will be continuously monitored through the department's EMS Quality Assurance program under the direction of the fire service medical director.

The department does not anticipate any changes to response times as a result of these operational changes.

The pathway creates three distinct points of entry and advancement:

• EMT: Entry-level emergency medical certification, providing basic life support.
• Paramedic: Advanced life support licensure and county accreditation.
• Firefighter-Paramedic: Dual certification, staffing engine and truck companies.

A candidate can enter at any level. What is new is that these steps now connect within one organization. Previously, someone who wanted to become a Folsom firefighter-paramedic had to obtain both certifications independently—at their own expense and time—before competing for a position.

The pool of candidates holding both firefighter and paramedic certifications is small, and every department in the region competes for it. That competition is a structural challenge no single agency can solve simply by "trying harder."

The pathway lets Folsom recruit from the much larger pool of single-role EMTs and paramedics, then develop firefighting certifications internally for those who choose that track. It converts a hiring bottleneck into an internal development program that the department can directly control.

Two main reasons:

• Specialization: A paramedic who loves emergency medicine and does not wish to fight fire can now build a full career in Folsom. Conversely, a firefighter focused on suppression no longer spends significant career time assigned to an ambulance.
• Clear Progression: Employees stay where there is opportunity. A paramedic who sees a defined route to firefighter-paramedic—and works alongside colleagues who have walked it—has a clear reason to remain with Folsom.

No, and the department will not suggest otherwise. Firefighter-paramedic positions are filled through competitive selection under the city's merit system. The pathway offers access and preparation, not automatic promotion. Anyone considering this route should understand that clearly.

• Single-Role Paramedics: High patient-contact volume on dedicated ambulance assignments optimizes skill retention. Emergency medicine proficiency depends on repetition; continuous assignment builds and maintains sharpness in high-acuity interventions like advanced airway management, cardiac care and pediatric assessments.
• Firefighter-Paramedics: Fire suppression personnel regain valuable training capacity. Hours previously spent staffing transport units become available for structural fire tactics, technical rescue, hazardous materials response, driver-operator proficiency and company-level drills.

Agencies rarely get to improve training in two distinct disciplines simultaneously. This program makes that possible by allowing personnel to focus on their primary operational domain.

The department developed the EMS Academy internally. The curriculum covers Sacramento County protocols, equipment integration, radio and dispatch procedures, medical direction, documentation standards and coordinated multi-company operations with fire suppression crews. Instruction is led entirely by department personnel.

The department will regularly report metrics to the City Council, including:

• Response time performance for medical and fire incidents.
• Unit availability and reliability.
• Clinical quality measures through the EMS Quality Assurance program.
• Staffing levels and vacancy rates across both classifications.
• Recruitment, retention and career pathway advancement outcomes.

We will report negative outcomes as directly as we report projected benefits, and we will adjust. This is a significant operational change to a core public service, and it deserves honest evaluation, not advocacy.

For information about what to do after a fire in your residence, view our informational booklet, After the Fire.

No. Please contact the Red Cross or the American Heart Association for their list of classes.

View a list of firefighter qualifications.

Cold Weather Safety Tips

1. Prepare your home and family
   
   • Review and update your family emergency plan.
   • Replenish your emergency supply kits, including battery-operated radio and flashlights.
   • Have extra blankets on hand.
   • Have a plan for meeting the needs of infants, children, seniors, and those with disabilities.
   • Winterize your house, barn, shed, and any other structure that may provide shelter for your family, neighbors, livestock, or equipment. Clear rain gutters and repair roof leaks and cut away tree branches that could fall on a house or other structure during a storm.
   • Move family pets indoors or to an enclosure out of the elements. Take similar steps to protect livestock and other large animals from the cold weather.
   • Move plants indoors or cover with blankets or plastic to prevent freezing.
   • Maintain a sufficient supply of heating fuel.
   • Insulate pipes and allow faucets to drip during cold weather to avoid freezing.
   • Keep fire extinguishers on hand, and make sure everyone in your house knows how to use them. House fires pose an additional risk, as people turn to alternate heating sources without taking the necessary safety precautions.
   • Don’t bring heating devices into the home that are intended for outdoor use, including barbecues and other cooking equipment or other fuel-burning devices. These items can produce deadly carbon monoxide.
   • Learn how to shut off water valves in case a pipe bursts.
   • Hire a contractor to check the structural ability of your roof to sustain unusually heavy weight from the accumulation of snow or water, if drains on flat roofs do not work.
2. Dress for cold weather
   
   • Wear several layers of loose fitting, lightweight, warm clothing rather than one layer of heavy clothing. The outer garments should be tightly woven and water repellent.
   • Wear mittens, which are warmer than gloves.
   • Wear a hat.
   • Cover your mouth with a scarf to protect your lungs.
3. Travel with caution
   
   • Have your car winterized, and make sure it is working properly.
   • Install good winter tires. Make sure the tires have adequate tread.
   • Augment your car’s emergency supply kit with a shovel, windshield scraper, and blankets.
   • Maintain at least a half tank of gas during the winter season.
   • Check road conditions before departing.
   • Let others know route and your estimated time of arrival.
4. Recognize symptoms of exposure
   
   • Confusion, dizziness, exhaustion, and shivering are signs of hypothermia. If you experience any of these symptoms, seek medical attention immediately.
   • Gray, white, or yellow skin discoloration, numbness, or waxy skin are symptoms of frostbite. If you experience any of these symptoms, seek immediate medical attention.
   • In the case of overexposure to freezing temperatures, remove wet clothing and immediately warm your body with a blanket or warm fluids like hot cider or soup. Avoid caffeine and alcohol.

The City of Folsom has a new Public Records Portal (NextRequest) that allows anyone to submit a request, correspond with City staff regarding their request, and track requests online. Please visit the Portal to submit a new request.

The fee for a report is $15, payable by cash or check.

A 30-day advance notice is highly recommended. Complete a Pub Ed Request Form, or you can call 916-461-6301. This request is then submitted to the Division Chief to determine resources and a return call or email will be made to you confirming the scheduled tour date or appearance and location.

Submit your completed Pub Ed Request Form by email to folsomfire@folsom.ca.us.

Folsom residents may participate in the fire department's Ride-Along program to observe first-hand how firefighters respond to calls for help. Learn more about the program, including restrictions and requirements.

Sand and bags are available at two locations in the City of Folsom.

More information about Sandbags