Concerns over Oakland fire station closures elevated by destruction in Los Angeles

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Officials have been under intense scrutiny for recent budget cuts to the city’s fire department totaling millions of dollars since the Palisades Fire ignited the storm of deadly fires that tore across areas of Los Angeles County earlier this week.

Last month, the city’s fire commission even sent a report stating that the changes had severely reduced the Los Angeles Fire Department’s capacity to respond to major situations.

Similar worries have been expressed in Oakland, where the city’s budget issues are also causing the fire department to be downsized.

As part of the city’s efforts to overcome a $130 million budget imbalance, the Oakland Fire Department temporarily closed Stations 28 and 25 on Monday, the day before the Palisades Fire started in Los Angeles.

The news that Fire Station 28 on Grass Valley Road, which played a crucial role in battling the Keller Fire in October, had been temporarily closed shocked Oakland Hills residents. Many residents are afraid of longer emergency response times and more risks in a fire-prone area as a result of the station closures.

As he visited Friday to express gratitude to the firefighters, Dr. John Cooke, a wheelchair-using local resident, was informed of the closure.

“I was going to ask them how to support keeping this station open,” he stated. His response to being told that it had already closed was, “I had no idea.”

Cooke finds the closure especially concerning because he has heard tales from Southern California about people who had a difficult time getting out during wildfires.

Cooke responded, “Yes, it does,” when asked if it frightened him. You need to enter the valley. He expressed his worry that in an emergency, first responders might not arrive in time.

According to Local 55 Union President Seth Olyer, the closures are anticipated to lead to longer emergency response times, which could have disastrous repercussions.

“Folks in the affected districts are going to be waiting double or triple the amount of time when their heart stops or their house is on fire,” Olyer said.

The vital significance these stations performed during the Keller Fire was even recognized by the fire chief of Oakland. When the fire threatened residences on Campus Drive, crews from both Stations 28 and 25 were among the first to arrive on the scene.

Olyer underlined that the situation might have been disastrous if the firefighters from those two stations hadn’t acted quickly.

“Take even two engines out of the initial response and the amount of work they did initially made the difference between saving houses and witnessing tens of millions in losses or even loss of life,” he stated.

Locals like Dennis Adams, who lives close by, are really worried. He noted that abandoned cars are frequently dumped in the vicinity of Station 28 and are frequently set on fire.

“The difference between a fire spreading versus being put out down the street could be this firehouse being open or not,” Adams stated.

City officials are being urged to overturn the decision by Adams and other locals. Ken Houston, a recently elected member of the City Council, stated that he is dedicated to securing the necessary funding to reopen Station 28, which is located in District 7.

“They said it would be closed for a five-to-six month period, then reopen after closing another station,” Houston said. “I’m not satisfied with that. Halve it. In three months, let’s reopen it. I intend to push the boundaries.

Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins, with whom Houston has communicated, has expressed a similar dedication to reopening the station as quickly as feasible. Houston has taken personal measures to protect the abandoned station, which has already been the target of looters, in the interim.

“You’ve got a new sheriff in town,” Houston said. The plan is for me to roll through myself. This gives me hope.