Facing a budget deficit of nearly $130 million, Oakland leaders announced Friday they’re temporarily closing two firehouses in the city.
The closures of Station 25 near Joaquin Miller Park and Station 28 on Grass Valley Road near Lake Chabot Golf Course will begin Monday and last for six months.
"The way we chose these two firehouses was through some data analysis," Oakland Fire Department Chief Damon Covington said. "We wanted to see the least amount of impact that we could have on the community."
A total of three fire stations will end up being closed because the third is already shut down for renovations.
Covington said each six-month closure will save about $2.5 million. It’s part of the contingency budget adopted by the city council to address a $129 million deficit.
Seth Olyer will take over as Oakland’s fire union president the same day the stations close.
"There’s no really any good time to close a firehouse," he said. "We’re already stretched thin. We're already understaffed and overworked."
He said Oakland, which has about 78,000 calls for fire services every year, can’t afford to close any stations for any amount of time.
"And then the city is threatening to close an additional four for a total of seven, which is 30% of our engine companies, and that’s unthinkable," Olyer said. "There’s no way we can responsibly respond to emergencies like that."
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Oakland is scheduled to announce the additional four closures by early February, but City Administrator Jestin Johnson said his office is trying to save every penny it can and look for new revenue to keep the stations open.
"We really looked across the board with respect to freezing positions, that sort of thing, just every trigger that local governments have at their disposal to close these deficits," he said.
Covington said the department will send trucks from five stations to the browned-out areas to make sure people are still covered during an emergency.
