San Jose, Oakland fire departments understaffed like L.A.

What does it mean for the Bay Area?

The devastating fires that continue to burn in Los Angeles and rank among California’s deadliest and most destructive in history exposed long-festering complaints that the city fire department’s staffing is well below national averages.

Here in the Bay Area, two of the three largest city fire departments are similarly stretched, raising questions about their ability to protect homes and residents from wind-driven infernos like the Palisades and Eaton fires that continue to burn in and around Los Angeles where they’ve killed 28 people and destroyed more than 15,000 homes and other structures.

Nationally, fire departments staffed mostly or entirely by full-time employees, rather than volunteers, have ranged from 1.54 to 1.81 career firefighters per 1,000 people, and 0.84 to 1.30 in larger departments, according to the latest U.S. fire department profile report in 2022 by the National Fire Protection Association, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that researches fire safety.

The Los Angeles Fire Department has less than one firefighter for every 1,000 residents, with a staffing rate of 0.90, a Bay Area News Group analysis found. The rate at the Oakland Fire Department is 1.07, and the San Jose Fire Department’s is only 0.64.

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‘No risk-free way to close that many firehouses’: Oakland leaders listen to residents’ concerns

Oakland Fire Chief Damon Covington, several city council members, and Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins addressed residents’ concerns about the brownouts of three fire stations during a virtual town hall Thursday night.

The hour-long meeting was organized by District 4 Councilmember Janani Ramachandran. City leaders sought to clarify the decision-making process that recently led to the shuttering of three firehouses and answer community members’ questions. Several hundred people tuned in.

Fire Stations 25 and 28 in the Oakland Hills have been temporarily closed since Jan. 6 to help address the city’s budget shortfall. They will remain closed through the end of the current fiscal year. Fire Station No. 10, located in the Grand Lake neighborhood, has been closed since 2022 for renovations.

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Response time for Oakland Hills fire delayed due to recent budget cuts, station closures

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) — A fire broke out in Oakland Hills Wednesday off of Lochard Street. Fire crews were delayed in their response time due to budget cuts and closed-down stations. KRON4 went to the home and spoke with the chief and neighbors.

The home appears destroyed and all that is left is debris. Another great concern pertaining to this fire is its location. It’s surrounded by thick vegetation, and the street it’s on is pretty tucked away.

According to the Oakland Fire Department (OFD), they got the call around 1 a.m. Wednesday of reports of a fire. But OFD tells KRON4 it took them longer to arrive because the closer station to this area was shut down due to recent budget cuts.

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Closed fire station leads to delayed response to Oakland hills house fire

OAKLAND, Calif. – A three-bedroom home went up in flames early Wednesday in the Oakland hills as firefighters arrived later than usual because a nearby station was closed due to budget cuts.

“When I went outside thinking that the Fire Department was going to be here relatively quickly, I didn’t hear anything,” said Rosemary Gray, who called 911 when she realized her neighbor’s home on Lochard Street in the Chabot Park neighborhood was on fire.

The blaze was reported at 1:06 a.m. However, it took the first firefighters 11 minutes to arrive because the city shut down Fire Station 28, which was just minutes away on Grass Valley Road, as a result of budget cuts.

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‘A Tragedy Waiting to Happen’: Oakland Shutters 2 Fire Stations

Oakland Fire Department Station 28 on Jan. 5, 2025, located on Grass Valley Road in the East Oakland Hills. In 2023, fire station 28 responded to 405 calls. (David M. Barreda/KQED)

Wildfires in Los Angeles have brought fire department budgets under scrutiny. In Oakland, the recent closures of two fire stations in the city’s hills have left firefighters warning of a tragedy waiting to happen. 

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‘Gambling with lives of Oakland residents’: Firefighters sound alarm over station closures

Oakland, CaliforniaOakland firefighters took to City Hall’s front steps on Monday to warn of dire consequences if city officials, elected and appointed, do not stop closing fire stations. 

Only the sale of the Oakland Coliseum property can ward off an unprecedented downsizing of a city proven highly vulnerable to fires and earthquakes.

The next Alameda County Board of Supervisors meeting is Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. 

The singular question for Oakland firefighters who want to save their 156-year-old department is: Can they sound the alarm loud enough to serve 8,000 fire and medical service calls a year? 

Residents in 10 hill communities, from part of Shepard Canyon to Grass Valley, more than six miles west, will be the most impacted, given longer travel times from available remaining stations.  

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As Oakland shutters fire stations, firefighters ramp up campaign opposing cuts

The Oakland firefighters union, International Association of Fire Fighters Local 55, has one message for new city leadership: Keep fire stations open.

Roughly 50 members of the Oakland, Alameda County, San Francisco, Berkeley, and Richmond firefighters unions gathered outside City Hall before the first council meeting of the year to protest the temporary closures of two Oakland fire stations and the proposed brownouts of four additional firehouses.

Effective today, Fire Station No. 25 in Joaquin Miller Park and Fire Station No. 28 in the Chabot Park neighborhood are temporarily closed through the fiscal year ending July 1. They join Fire Station No. 10 in the Grand Lake neighborhood, which closed in November 2022 for renovations, though that station’s reopening date is unclear.

During Monday’s news conference, IAFF Local 55 President Seth Olyer said the new brownouts impact the following neighborhoods: Chabot Park, Sequoyah, Knowland Park, Joaquin Miller, Oakmore, Skyline, Grass Valley, Woodminster, Lincoln Highlands, and Crestmont.

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Oakland could soon have 7 fire stations closed

OAKLAND, Calif. – Two Oakland fire stations closed on Monday in an effort to help balance the city’s budget.

This is a temporary closure that’s supposed to last six months for Station 28 on Grass Valley Road and Station 25 on Butters Drive. 

Because these stations are being “browned out,” it means they will be empty with nobody answering calls for help.

Station 10, which is already closed for renovations, will remain closed as well because of the cuts.

Oakland plans to revisit the issue in early February and close four more stations, which would bring the total to seven. 

Seth Olyer, president of the Oakland Firefighters Union Local 55, said that the decision to close these stations is because city leaders decided it’s not technically fire season right now.

But, he said “the reality is that, unfortunately, there is no good fire station to close. It’s all about response time.” 

The union held a news conference on Monday, trying to get the city to reverse its decision. 

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Oakland residents, firefighters concerned about fire station closures

Oakland Hills residents say they are worried about the city’s plan to temporarily close two fire stations to help address the city budget deficit.

More than a dozen Oakland hills residents expressed frustration and concern that two local fire stations are set to close on Monday, and firefighters were set to call on city leaders to reconsider the closures.

Station 25 near Joaquin Miller Park and Station 28 on Grass Valley Road near Lake Chabot Golf Course will be closed for six months. The city announced the closures on Friday.

The closures are part of the contingency budget adopted by the Oakland City Council this summer to address a $129 million deficit.

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2 Oakland fire stations closed because of budget shortfall; firefighters warn of life-threatening delays

Oakland’s budget shortfall is now causing direct consequences for public safety with the temporary closure Monday morning of two fire stations.

The two fire stations in the Oakland Hills, Station No. 25 on Butters Drive and Station No. 28 on Grass Valley Road, will be closed for the next six months. The already-shuttered Station 10 on Santa Clara Avenue in the city’s Grand Lake neighborhood will also remain closed because of the cuts, while another four stations could close next month.

The closures prompted Oakland firefighters to rally in front of City Hall Monday before the first city council meeting of the year and call on councilmembers to reopen the closed stations even as the city is facing a $13 million budget deficit.

Members of Oakland Firefighters Local 55 said Monday that closing these stations means some residents could face emergency response times of more than 10 minutes, noting that brain damage from a loss of oxygen can start in 6 minutes, and a house fire can become life-threatening in 2 minutes.  

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