Another house of REAL HERO'S of Public Service. Their Badge is about Honor, Pride and Community…read moreService NOT Macho, power tripping attitude..

A great fire department with great guys who are always ready to serve their citizens with pride and…read moreintegrity, and if the need comes up, provide mutual aid to neighboring cities. As our local fire department says "when I doubt call us out!"

Is there any reason every fire department truck and ambulance has slowly been driving up and down…read moreUniversity Avenue with sirens blaring honking their horns for the last eight hours straight? Is every f***ing house in Berkeley on fire? What is your problem?

Great team at this station. They responded in record time Sunday evening and delivered me to Kaiser…read moreOakland ER. To reciprocate I have an order from Mountain Mike's on it's way to the station now! Enjoy Sharon Harkey

A great fire department with great guys who are always ready to serve their citizens with pride and…read moreintegrity, and if the need comes up, provide mutual aid to neighboring cities. As our local fire department says "when I doubt call us out!"

So the women and men of Station 5 are who you want to see when your neighbor decides to make BBQ…read moreinside with her propane stove. Now, I may be biased because my uncle is a retired fireman, but I am impressed by Station 5's no nonsense approach and teamwork.

My one star review is solely based upon two separate incidents that occurred when I was working…read morewith a student housing office. Short version: horrible experience with receptionist over prolonged period; horrible experience with a specific firefighter who "shamed" me for not knowing better and calling 9-1-1. The receptionist was unorganized; misplaced faxed documents and claimed I never faxed them; LIED to students that they weren't supposed to submit the paperwork to the office but rather directly to the department. [per policy they were to submit it to the housing office and I would fax it to the department and retain the original for our records]. Another incident occurred that same school year, in which I made the decision to call 9-1-1 because of the state my friend was in. I was definitely hesitant about calling because he told me not to call but I said "better safe than sorry." Basically when I did call, operator somehow "diagnoses" what's going on with my friend and so while the firefighters thought it was "alcohol withdrawal" all I described was: uncontrollable shaking or shivering, couldn't tell which one, labored breathing, inability to hold himself up and the inability to focus his eyes. One firefighter said "this was a fucking waste of time" proceeded to ask who called and tried to shame me for calling and telling me that I "should have known better than to think it was alcohol withdrawal." Looking back, I wished I cursed him out (not ignorantly) but in a way that got him to see his own ignorance. Obviously I'm not a firefighter, not a paramedic or anything related to a professional in the medical field. Just because I am a college student, it doesn't mean I know what all sorts of alcohol related emergencies look like. It also doesn't mean I drink, he heavily implied that, and I'm actually sober. He needs to learn to be professional and understand that there are going to be unintentional "bad" 9-1-1 calls that are out of genuine concern and lack of knowledge in the actual level of seriousness in situations.

This review is purely for the paramedics/EMT's and ambulance policy if you live in the city of El…read moreCerrito, it is NOT about the firefighters. El Cerrito residents: As of 2023, if you call an ambulance and ask to be taken to ANY other hospital except Alta Bates in Berkeley or Richmond Kaiser, you will be refused. El Cerrito ambulances will NO LONGER bring you to the County hospital in Martinez or John Muir in Walnut Creek, even though it's in our County! Even if your health insurance ONLY covers John Muir, the ambulance staff does not care. And they will CHARGE YOU JUST FOR CALLING, EVEN IF THEY DIDN'T TAKE YOU ANYWHERE. Even if no blood pressure, no nothing, you will receive a bill for $550 and change. How come they don't charge old people for getting them off the floor, but charge a sick person for walking into your bedroom? Plus they treat you like some kind of criminal. And they love making inappropriate comments to women. If you're on Medicare, remember Medicare WILL NOT pay for an ambulance unless you're taken to the hospital. So, I guess the EC Fire Department wants to make their money and if you don't go to the hospital they know Medicare won't pay so they charge you, a sick and disabled person. I wonder how much more it would have been if I had let them force me into an EKG, even though my problem had nothing to do with the heart? Up-selling at its finest. Shame on the Fire Dept administrators! Praise for the ACTUAL firefighters risking their lives.

A great fire department with great guys who are always ready to serve their citizens with pride and…read moreintegrity, and if the need comes up, provide mutual aid to neighboring cities. As our local fire department says "when I doubt call us out!"

I've been having a different police officers everyday in my house and no one has been able to help…read moreme A.Gonzalez 1872 from Richmond Police department came here today as soon as I seen him he identify himself he provided me with information about safety and what to do next to protect myself from this in a legal way he did an investigation I felt safe and secure around him he was also nice with my 5 year old after seeing about five different police officers none has been able to help me but Mr Gonzalez justice have been serve and my family protected he is great and respectful Iam so thankfull for having him in our community he is the best oficer in richmond ca i ca finally sleep at peace with my family and know that everything is okay thanks Mr A.Gonzalez at Richmond police department

Review for Officer Gonzales - Richmond Police Department, CA…read more I want to sincerely thank Officer Gonzales for the incredible help he gave me today. My camper accidentally fell off my hitch near the train tracks by the highway, and I was in a stressful situation trying to figure out what to do. Initially, another officer saw what happened but drove off, leaving me unsure of how long I would be waiting. After about 25 minutes, Officer Gonzales arrived, and he was the only officer who stayed to help. He was amazing--he basically lifted my entire camper and helped me properly secure it back onto the hitch. I had made a mistake attaching it, and he handled the situation with patience, professionalism, and kindness. What really stood out to me is that he didn't make me feel worried or anxious at all. Most interactions I've had with police make me feel nervous, but Officer Gonzales was just there to help--he even said so himself. I had been on my way to the DMV to register the camper, so I was a little nervous when he pulled up, but his calm, helpful attitude completely put me at ease. I truly appreciate his assistance, and I want to publicly acknowledge his kindness, dedication, and professionalism. Officer Gonzales went above and beyond, and without him, I would have been stuck in a very stressful situation for much longer. Thank you!

To my surprise, the court house is easy to navigate, employees are very nice and helpful, from…read moresecurity to window service. Easy peasy and quick service. Bravo to the employees !!

I remember every little thing As if it happened only…read moreyesterday... I was barely 19, this court was where I first served on a jury. It was such a messed up experience. This is the story. After deliberation the Jury Foreman asked for a vote. It was 11 to 1 for a guilty verdict. I was the lone hold out. The defendant was charged with assault on a police officer and possession of marijuana. On the main charge, assault on a police officer, the jury quickly and unanimously agreed the defendant was Not Guilty. The police officer's story was ludicrous. Instead of an assault on a police officer, there was convincing evidence that in responding to a domestic disturbance call the police had beat the living shit out of the defendant, and then tried to cover it up by arresting the defendant on a phony assault charge. When the defendant was arrested he had a tiny roach (the marijuana equivalent of a cigarette butt) in his pocket. The Judge instructed us that if we found that the defendant was in possession of marijuana we should find him guilty. In deliberation I agreed that the defendant was in possession of marijuana, but questioned whether such a minute amount merited (what at that time would have been) a misdemeanor conviction. I asked my fellow jurors, Are we really going to saddle this guy with a record for a roach? The Jury Foreman was a cigarette smoker. I come from a family of smokers, so I knew a little about them. When smokers run out of cigarettes, they get desperate. They call it having a "nicotine fit." When push comes to shove, I've seen smokers pull one of their cigarette butts out of their ashtray and light it up just for a quick hit of nicotine. I pointed out that if the roach was a cigarette butt, it wasn't even enough to quiet a nicotine fit. It wasn't a useable amount. The Jury Foreman looked at me with disgust. "What this comes down to," he said, "is some of us use marijuana and some of us don't." (Ouch) Clearly he was irritated by my analogy, and suspicious of anyone defending a doper. Various jurors weighed in, but no one saw it my way. I could not disagree that the guy was in possession, but I felt I wouldn't be able to live with myself for convicting him for a such a tiny amount. After several 11 to 1 votes, I persuaded the Jury Foreman to ask the Judge whether or not it mattered that it wasn't actually a useable quantity of marijuana. He wrote the question down and handed it to our bailiff. A short time later the Judge called the jury back to the court room. I don't recall exactly how he said it, but he announced that the Jury Foreman had made a request for an interpretation of law. Instead of directly addressing the issue I brought up, the Judge just read the section of the penal code the defendant was charged with violating and reiterated his previous instructions. And he sounded a little pissed off to be bothered with the question. So, now what was I gonna do? There wasn't going to be any guidance from the bench. I couldn't deny the guy was in possession. I tried my level best to convince my fellow jurors of my position and failed. I wasn't even sure if my position had any legal merit. So, I hated doing it, but I voted to convict. At the time I didn't see there was anything else I could do. So messed up. Mikey C says: It was long ago and it was far away, and it was so much better that it is today