OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) -- COVID-19's impact on the economy could lead to the Oakland Fire Department losing three fire engine companies.
A city proposal to rotate fire engine closures is causing major concern for public safety.
"The city is going to close fire houses on a rotating basis," International Association of Firefighters President Zac Unger said. "That means you will never know, day-to-day, whether your family is protected, whether your business is protected."
There are 24 fire engines in the City of Oakland. OFD is staring at the prospect of loosing three of those engines due to the city's multi-million dollar budget deficit.
"The fire department has never done shutdowns like this," Unger said.
The president of the union that represents Oakland firefighters, Zac Unger, explains that losing three engines could add five to 10 minutes to response time.
"A fire doubles in size every minute and when a heart-attack victim goes without oxygen for four minutes they will completely loose brain function," he said. "The difference between five minutes and 10 minutes is the difference between keeping a fire just to your stove-top and keeping a fire from destroying an entire city block."
"We have a $62 million deficit," Oakland City Councilmember Noel Gallo said.
ODF is potentially facing $5 million in cuts, which could result in shutting down three fire engines on a rotating basis.
"Tell me what three stations you're talking about, because normally in the past you're talking about East Oakland," Gallo said. "The one that doesn't cry the loudest but has the greatest need when it comes to shooting, killings, fires."
The spokesperson for the Oakland Fire Department sent KRON4 a statement that reads, in part:
"We need to be clear with residents that fire stations are not outright shutting down. there will be scheduled temporary closures each day for three of the 24 engine companies on a rotating basis between January and end of June."
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf also sent KRON4 a quote regarding the budget cuts that reads:
"If we do not make these hard choices right now, we will be forced to make heartbreaking ones later."
from KRON4 https://ift.tt/3sq5yWY
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