Gold Ridge Fire Protection District
The Gold Ridge Fire Protection District is a special district governed by a board of directors, that provides fire protection and emergency medical services in the unincorporated areas of Sebastopol, California including; Hessel, Twin Hills, and Freestone. The district was formed in a merger and reorganization of the Twin Hills Fire District and the Hessel Fire District in 1993. The district includes approximately and serves a population of approximately 25,000. Gold Ridge Fire Protection District had a memorandum of understanding with the Bennett Valley Fire Protection District (a separate special district also located in Sonoma  County) which allowed for sharing of overhead and staff that lasted for approximately 22 years and ended in 2019. Gold Ridge Fire Protection District works in close coordination with its surrounding fire districts/departments and provides automatic and mutual aid for all types of incidents and station cover assignments. Stations and apparatus. As of 2020, the district is home to three fire stations.