History of the Tassajara Fire District

Unlike the autonomous fire districts of Danville and San Ramon, the Tassajara District was a "dependent" special district.  This meant that the Commissioners were appointees of the County Board of Supervisors.  The district although tax supported had no direct authority to levy taxes and all budget items and employee issues came under the purview of the Board of Supervisors.

The District service area consisted of a large primarily rural area to the south and east of Danville and San Ramon.  The primary industry was agricultural.  There was one station on Camino Tassajara, still occupied by the San Ramon Valley District and a couple of engines housed in residents homes on Morgan Territory Road. 

The final Fire Chief for the District was Steve Eppler.   He served the District for a number of years as a part paid employee, single handedly managing the operations, administration and all other aspects. 

Photo - Back Row Left to Right: Ivan Allen, Vera Reinstein, Ken Howland,
Steve Eppler (Chief) Roger Lake (Asst. Chief)
Seated left to right: Steve Morgan, president; Sue Geil, Secretary

Chief Eppler had a dedicated volunteer force that served the community faithfully.  Unfortunately, as happened to the other Districts, the community complexion started to change and the residents were less often employed locally, and more often commuting to their jobs, leaving none available during large parts of the day to provide fire protection.  This development spelled the end for the mostly volunteer District, and in 1990 it was absorbed into o the San Ramon Valley Fire District.

Danville Fire   San Ramon Fire   Tassajara Fire  Dougherty Fire