By Sara Beth Williams–
Officials with the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District have complimented the City of Citrus Heights for its public safety polices which has led to a decrease in calls for service, Citrus Heights’ City Manager reported in July.
City Manager Ashley Feeney relayed at the July 8 Citrus Heights City Council meeting, that during a recent two-by-two meeting, Sacramento Metro Fire District officials reported a 37 percent reduction in calls for service involving homelessness, and a six percent reduction in service calls overall, within the City of Citrus Heights.
“There was a lot of kudos that were paid to the City of Citrus Heights,” Feeney said, adding that the city is “doing very well” when it comes to matters of public safety and blight.
“They say that we are standing out for the policies that have been enacted here,” Feeney said regarding Sac Metro Fire officials.
In a chart shared by the city from Sacramento Metro Fire District showing year over year stats from 2024 and 2025, data showed a 40 percent decrease in incidents of grass and vegetation fires in Citrus Heights, with 49 grass fires reported in 2025, compared with 81 grass or vegetation fires reported in 2024. Data also showed a 29 percent decrease in vehicle fires with 22 vehicle fires reported in 2025 compared to 17 vehicle fires reported in 2024.
Data for Citrus Heights also shows a seven percent drop in motor vehicle accidents and in structure fires, a three percent drop in EMS calls, and a 13 percent drop in incidents labeled “other.”
Throughout the rest of the district, Metro Fire’s chart shows a three percent reduction in overall incidents, and an eight percent reduction in grass or vegetation fire incidents, a seven percent decrease in vehicle fires and incidents labeled as “other”, a four percent decrease in motor vehicle accident calls, and a two percent decrease in EMS calls.
Calls for service related to homelessness in Citrus Heights show a sharp drop, with a 37 percent decrease in all incidents involving homelessness, including a 43 percent drop in calls for service involving fires related to homelessness, and a 36 percent drop in calls for service involving medical calls related to homelessness.
There was a 50 percent increase in Citrus Heights in calls of service related to homelessness labeled as “other”, with nine incidents recorded in 2025 compared to six recorded in 2024.
Throughout the rest of the district, Metro Fire’s chart shows a decrease in homeless-related calls for service by 14 percent, with 18 percent less medical calls related to homelessness, and only one percent less of calls related to fires that were attributed to homelessness.
District stats also show a decrease of 37 percent, for calls of service related to homelessness labeled as “other.”
“The work is working,” Feeney said.
Metro Fire serves a population of over 720,000, in a 359 square mile service area, and is one of the largest fire agencies in the State of California, the district’s website states. Metro Fire operates 41 stations in 23 distinct communities throughout unincorporated Sacramento County, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, and a portion of Placer County.
Metro Fire is a combination of 16 smaller fire departments that, over the years, merged to create the California Special District. The last merger was in December 2000 when American River Fire Department and Sacramento County Fire Protection District merged to form the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, pursuant to Government Code Section 56839.
As a special district, Metro Fire is governed by a Board of Directors, and each member is elected by the voters within a geographical area, or division, of Metro Fire’s operational area.
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