On February 1, 2002, the City of Sonoma Fire Department combined operations with the Valley of the Moon Fire Protection District.  Together, they operate as the Sonoma Valley Fire & Rescue Authority.

Founded in 1888, the Sonoma Fire Department has a long tradition of committed service to the community.  The Department provides both fire protection and prehospital medical services. Department activiites are funded through the City of Sonoma's General Fund. 

The Valley of the Moon Fire Protection District is an independent "Special District" organized to provide specific local services to the constituency served.  As an independent special district, it is sufficiently autonomous from other units of government to posses its own taxing authority.  The District has the ability to tax, to sell bonds, to finance capital improvements and to establish its own administrative structure.  The Valley of the Moon Fire Protection District is also a non-enterprise district with an accounting system organized on a government fund basis that relies heavily on property tax as its major source of revenue.

The Fire District is governed by a five-member Board of Directors elected by the registered voters of the District. Elections are held in November on even years. The regular term of office for a member of the Board of Directors is four years. The Board of Directors is responsible to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors for certain administrative policies and is governed by the Health and Safety Code of the State of California and established Board Bylaws.

The Fire District was chartered by the State of California in 1936. Its property tax rate and established jurisdictional boundaries have been approved by the County of Sonoma. Any additions to or deletions from the jurisdictional boundaries must follow the appropriate annexation or de-annexation process as required by L.A.F.C.O., the Sonoma County Local Agency Formation Commission.

Sonoma Valley Fire & Rescue covers an area of 31.5 square miles and a resident population of approximately 33,000 and operates out of four fire stations. SVFRA serves the communities of Sonoma, Boyes Hot Springs, El Verano, Fetters Hot Springs, Agua Caliente, Diamond-A, Temelec and Seven Flags. Staffing consists of a Fire Chief, four Division Chiefs, 11 Captains, 14 Engineers, 35 part-time Firefighters, 6 full-time EMS employees, 30 part-time EMS employees and four clerical staff. Many of the SVFRA employees are Paramedics. By using cross-trained Firefighter Paramedics, the Department provides increased firefighting capacity while operating the ambulance service that serves the entire Sonoma Valley, an area of approximately 100 square miles.