Oakland Fire to operate all fire stations for first time in 20 years
OFD to open all firehouses
For the first time in more than two decades, every firehouse in Oakland will be open, making sure every corner of the city is fully covered in time for the start of wildfire season.
OAKLAND, Calif. - For the first time in more than two decades, every firehouse in Oakland will be open, making sure every corner of the city is fully covered in time for the start of wildfire season.
How It Happened:
Re-opening the firehouses was made possible thanks to funding derived from events held at the Oakland Coliseum and Arena, city officials told KTVU.
Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins said the Joint Powers Authority, or JPA, which financially partners the city with Alameda County, and the sale of the Coliseum, is responsible for $2.5 million needed to open all 25 of the fire stations temporarily.
The backstory:
Stations 28 and 25 in the Oakland hills, as well as Station 10 near Grand Lake were shut down, leaving neighboring fire companies to take on the workload.
"They’ve done a lot of additional work, a lot of additional calls to make sure our residents are well taken care of even during the brownouts," said Fire Chief Damon Covington.
The closures left the city vulnerable, and it came with a cost.
"At Station 25, less than 8 hours after it was closed on January 6, there was a call for CPR nearly as far as I could throw a rock from here," said Seth Olyer, the president of the firefighters union Local 55.
In mid-January, just down the street from Station 28 in Chabot Park, a house fire erupted and firefighters were delayed in arriving.
During the Keller Fire last October, when resources were well-aligned, it was the opposite impact.
"It made the difference between that fire not only growing larger and larger but saving dozens of lives and tens of millions of dollars in property," said Olyer.
By the numbers:
The national standard for response times is four minutes or fewer, 90% of the time.
"We’ve missed those quite a bit because of these closures," Olyer said, "But I’m hopeful for the future."
Chief Covington also noted the fire department is well-prepared for wildfire season thanks to the passing of Measure MM, which provides more funding for vegetation management.
Stations 28 and 25 will be open starting Sunday.
Station 10, which has been closed due to renovations, will reopen after those renovations are complete in the next couple of weeks.
What's next:
All 25 stations will stay open until the end of the fiscal year, which is June 30. The council decides what happens after that.
Mayor Jenkins recently submitted a budget proposal that will keep all but one station open for the next fiscal year.
Editor's note: We previously reported the sale of the Oakland Coliseum is what provided funding to reopen the firehouses. The store has been corrected to reflect that the funding came from Coliseum events, not the sale, which is still under negotiation.
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