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Section Three: Risk Assessment response to an unlikely but highly consequential event. Even when resources are distributed relatively evenly throughout the community, they may be deployed differently to different types of incidents, based on the response needs of each particular incident type, or in response to seasonal changes, special situations or events. Service Area Factors Unique to Eugene Fire & EMS Eugene Fire & EMS' primary service area for fire and first response EMS calls is contained within the city limits of Eugene. This area consists of a relatively traditional community distribution pattern featuring a densely developed downtown business core with well-established residential neighborhoods surrounding it. There are areas of industrial and commercial development outside the downtown core as well. This arrangement lends itself reasonably well to a traditional fire station location network based on predictions of emergency incident response patterns. However, a significant exception to this is the urban transition area, including River Road, Santa Clara and the Hwy. 99 Industrial Corridor. The majority of this area lies within Eugene's Urban Growth Boundary (UGB), and it is anticipated that all properties in this area will eventually be annexed to the city of Eugene, although a time line has not been established for this transition to occur. As a result, the area contains a large number of properties which have been annexed into the city, interspersed among many properties which have not yet been annexed. In the meantime, Eugene Fire & EMS is responsible for providing fire protection and EMS first response to only the annexed properties in this larger area, while service to the un-annexed properties is provided by rural fire protection districts. These noncontiguous annexations result in a growth pattern that does not move out predictably from the existing city limits but is dispersed in a patchwork fashion throughout the urban transition area. This presents a variety of challenges in seeking to effectively and efficiently meet the service needs of the entire area. In addition to properties within the city, Eugene Fire & EMS is the sole provider of fire protection and EMS first response to four rural fire protection districts -- Bailey-Spencer RFPD, Eugene RFPD #1, Willakenzie (west) RFPD, and Zumwalt RFPD -- as well as the River Road Water District. This coverage is provided through intergovernmental contracts with each of these special districts. With the exception of the River Road Water District, these districts are neighboring rural areas lying mostly outside the urban growth boundary. Topography The topography of the Eugene Fire & EMS service area is widely diverse. The core metropolitan service area is relatively flat, although several buttes and hillside ridges define distinct neighborhoods and a portion of the metropolitan boundary. The Willamette River flows through the center of town, and the McKenzie River forms part of the northern edge of town. As one moves out in any direction, the terrain becomes more varied and includes rolling to steep hills as well as broad riparian zones on the periphery. 14