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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