{"id":197,"date":"2021-01-19T15:28:59","date_gmt":"2021-01-19T23:28:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firesafeoakland.com\/?p=197"},"modified":"2021-01-19T15:56:11","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T23:56:11","slug":"oaklands-neighbors-firefighters-see-red-over-plan-to-deactivate-engines-shutter-stations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firesafeoakland.com\/oaklands-neighbors-firefighters-see-red-over-plan-to-deactivate-engines-shutter-stations\/","title":{"rendered":"Oakland\u2019s neighbors, firefighters see red over plan to deactivate engines, shutter stations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
San Francisco Chronicle<\/strong>– Oakland will begin deactivating some of its fire engines and shuttering stations temporarily on Thursday in a budget-cutting move that drew criticism from firefighters and neighboring communities that contract with the city for fire protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fire department will deactivate three engines for six days at a time over the next five months, effectively closing three of the city\u2019s 25 stations, each of which operate with one engine. The only station not affected is at Oakland International Airport. The move is expected to save $5 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local officials and firefighters criticized the move and threatened to take legal action to prevent the closures. Some firefighters say their work now is more crucial than ever as they are often the first responders during the COVID pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou have the domino effect that ends up emptying the city of fire engines because they\u2019re all covering for each other\u2019s calls,\u201d said Zac Unger, president of Oakland Firefighters Local 55.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot only do we respond to fires, but we respond to all COVID emergency calls in the city. If anybody is having difficulty breathing, they call us and we respond. I don\u2019t know of any other city that is reducing emergency response capability at the height of the pandemic,\u201d Unger added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last month, the city\u2019s finance department said Oakland is facing an \u201cunprecedented fiscal challenge.\u201d<\/a> The city ended its 2019-20 fiscal year in June with a $30 million budget gap. Now that\u2019s grown to $62 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The overspending came primarily from the Oakland Police Department exceeding its budget by $32 million over the last fiscal year, wrote Margaret O\u2019Brien, the interim finance director, in a report presented to City Council last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n