Southern Marin Fire District

What Southern Marin Fire District does

Southern Marin Fire Protection District is a public special district organized under California law that delivers fire protection, emergency medical, wildfire prevention, and public safety services to approximately 41,248 residents across 18,756 housing units in Southern Marin County. The district's statutory service area covers the cities of Sausalito, Mill Valley, Tiburon, and Belvedere, plus unincorporated communities including Tam Valley, Homestead Valley, Strawberry, Alto Sutton, and Almonte. It operates from nine facilities, including five fire stations, and participates in the Southern Marin Emergency Medical Paramedic System (SMEMPS) Joint Powers Authority, which serves roughly 2,650 patients annually and provides specialized water and confined-space rescue capability.

The district's technology and operational stack centers on citizen-alerting and emergency notification infrastructure: PulsePoint (911-connected CPR and incident alerts), AlertMarin (county-wide emergency alerting), LRAD emergency sirens, the Marin Public Information evacuation zone map, and hosted Alert California wildfire cameras. Vegetation management services are delivered through a $1,000,000 annual program funded by Measure U (passed 2019), providing free chipper services, home assessments, defensible-space support, and home-hardening grants, with over 1,500 properties serviced since 2020. The district earned a 2024 California State Fire Risk Reduction community recognition and a California EMS Life Saving Award, and coordinates with regional partners including Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority, FireSafe Marin, and Ready Marin.

The district is funded primarily through property taxes and Measure U special tax revenue, with supplemental fee income from ambulance transport billing (via SMEMPS), fire inspections, plan reviews, occupancy inspections, and permits (for example, a $203 re-inspection fee and a $140 occupancy/school licensing pre-inspection fee). Core emergency response is provided to all residents at no direct charge. The district is governed by a Board of Directors representing constituent jurisdictions, with 51-100 employees, and is not a private-sector entity — there is no ownership, equity, funding rounds, M&A activity, or commercial software product in scope.

Name

Southern Marin Fire District

Legal name

Southern Marin Fire Protection District

Website

https://smfd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Southern Marin Fire Protection District is a public California fire district delivering fire suppression, emergency medical services, wildfire prevention, and vegetation management to roughly 41,248 residents across Sausalito, Mill Valley, Tiburon, Belvedere, and unincorporated Southern Marin communities, funded by property taxes and Measure U.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Fire Protection and Emergency Services

NAICS

Fire Protection (92216), Fire Protection (922160), Support Activities for Forestry (11531), Support Activities for Forestry (115310)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Fire & Rescue Services (Fire Suppression, Rescue) (BPAIAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Integrated Forest Health & Fire Management Planning (AFAMAEAK), Wildfire Fuel Reduction & Prescribed Burning (AFAMAAAF), Wildfire Suppression & Incident Response (AFAMAEAE), Firebreak & Defensible Space Construction (AFAMAEAF)

Keywords

• Fire protection services
• Emergency medical services
• Wildfire prevention programs
• Vegetation management services
• Emergency response services

Headquarters

HQ city

Sausalito

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Property Tax Revenue: Primary funding source from property taxes collected from residents within the district boundaries. The district covers cities of Sausalito, Mill Valley, Tiburon, Belvedere, and unincorporated areas including Tam Valley, Homestead Valley, Strawberry, Alto Sutton, and Almonte.
2. Measure U Tax Revenue: Special tax measure passed in 2019 establishing a Vegetation Management Program with a budget of $1,000,000 for wildfire hazard reduction activities including fuel breaks, chipper programs, and home assessments.
3. Ambulance Transportation Billing (SMEMPS): Emergency medical services transport billing through Southern Marin Emergency Medical Paramedic System Joint Powers Authority. SMEMPS was established in October 1980 to provide paramedic service to Southern Marin County residents.
4. Fire Prevention Fees and Permits: Fees collected for fire inspections, construction plan reviews, occupancy inspections, and fire prevention permits under the jurisdiction.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Southern Marin Fire District is a public fire protection district providing 24/7 fire suppression, emergency medical response (via SMEMPS), wildfire prevention, vegetation management, and community preparedness services to residents and businesses in Southern Marin County, California. The district operates five fire stations across Sausalito, Mill Valley, Tiburon, and Belvedere, serving approximately 41,248 residents across 18,756 housing units. Services are funded primarily through property taxes and the Measure U special tax, with selected inspection fees and ambulance transport billing as secondary revenue sources.

Product overview

Southern Marin Fire District provides fire protection, emergency response, emergency medical services (via SMEMPS), marine rescue, fire prevention and inspections, vegetation management, and community preparedness education services to residents in Southern Marin County, California. The district operates multiple fire stations and offers various public safety programs including a Chipper Program for vegetation management, CPR/PulsePoint emergency response notifications, evacuation planning resources, and home assessment services. The organization does not appear to offer a distinct commercial software product; rather, its services are operational in nature, focused on fire safety, emergency response, and community preparedness.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Southern Marin Emergency Medical Paramedic System (SMEMPS): Joint Powers Authority providing emergency medical services, paramedic response, and ambulance transportation for southern Marin County. Established in October 1980.

Products and services

• Fire Suppression and Emergency Response
• Emergency Medical Services (SMEMPS)
• Vegetation Management Program
• Chipper Program
• Fire Prevention Inspections and Permits
• Marine and Dive Rescue Services
• Community Preparedness Education

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,650 patients served annually through SMEMPS paramedic system
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Southern Marin Emergency Medical Paramedic System (SMEMPS) Joint Powers AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint Powers Authority formed in October 1980 comprising Mill Valley, Tiburon, Belvedere, Southern Marin Fire District, Sausalito, and County of Marin. Provides integrated paramedic service to Southern Marin County seeing approximately 2,650 patients annually. Original paramedics were trained at Stanford University Hospital paramedic program. The system has evolved to include a medium-duty Rescue vehicle with water and confined space rescue capabilities.
• Marin Wildfire Prevention AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional collaborative focused on wildfire prevention across Marin County. Southern Marin Fire District participates in vegetation management projects and coordinates defensible space and home hardening grant programs through this partnership.
• FireSafe MarinmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity outreach partnership providing wildfire preparedness education, evacuation guides, and fire safety resources to Marin County residents. Coordinates with the district on defensible space landscaping and vegetation lists.
• Ready MarinmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmergency preparedness initiative for Marin County residents providing planning resources, go bags, and family preparedness information.
• Ready KidsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChild-focused emergency preparedness education program helping families prepare children for emergencies.
• CNL Native Plant NurseryminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCertified Fire-Smart Plant Nursery within Southern Marin Fire District. Received certification in July 2021. Provides fire-smart vegetation guidance and defensible space education to residents purchasing plants.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Marin County Fire Department: County-level fire agency serving other unincorporated and contracted areas of Marin County. Operates as a parallel fire protection provider with overlapping wildfire prevention, EMS, and vegetation management programs in the same county.
• Central Marin Fire Authority: Joint powers authority fire agency serving Larkspur, Corte Madera, and adjacent Marin County communities. Direct peer in service delivery model, EMS integration, and wildfire mitigation programs in adjacent Southern Marin territory.
• Ross Valley Fire Department: Fire department serving Fairfax, San Anselmo, Ross, and Sleepy Hollow in Marin County. Comparable suburban fire protection district with similar structure, EMS integration, and wildfire preparedness focus.
• Kentfield Fire Protection District: Special district fire agency serving Kentfield and unincorporated areas of Marin County. Operates under similar California Health & Safety Code framework with comparable property tax funding and EMS service model.
• Novato Fire Protection District: Independent special district providing fire and EMS services to Novato in northern Marin County. Comparable special district governance structure, response model, and WUI/wildfire mitigation challenges.
• Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority (MWPA): Regional Joint Powers Authority coordinating wildfire prevention across Marin County member agencies including SMFD. Direct peer in vegetation management, defensible space programs, and home hardening grants.
• San Rafael Fire Department: Municipal fire department serving San Rafael, the largest city in Marin County. Comparable urban-suburban fire service provider with EMS, fire prevention, and wildfire preparedness programs in adjacent territory.

Broad incumbents

• CAL FIRE (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection): State-level fire agency providing wildfire protection across California's wildlands and State Responsibility Areas. Operates as the broader incumbent in wildfire response that coordinates with and supports local agencies like SMFD.
• FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency): Federal emergency management agency that provides disaster response coordination, grants (including Assistance to Firefighters grants), and recovery funding. Operates at a much broader scale as the federal counterpart in emergency services.

Others

• PulsePoint Foundation: Nonprofit technology provider of the PulsePoint Respond app integrated into SMFD's emergency response. Technology ecosystem partner rather than direct competitor, enabling citizen CPR response and community notification.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/smfdinfo
• Facebookfacebook.com/southernmarinfire
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southern-marin-fire-district
• Instagraminstagram.com/southernmarinfire

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southern Marin Fire District