More than a dozen Oakland hills residents expressed frustration and concern that two local fire stations are set to close on Monday, and firefighters were set to call on city leaders to reconsider the closures.
Station 25 near Joaquin Miller Park and Station 28 on Grass Valley Road near Lake Chabot Golf Course will be closed for six months. The city announced the closures on Friday.
The closures are part of the contingency budget adopted by the Oakland City Council this summer to address a $129 million deficit.
On Monday, Oakland firefighters were expected to call on city leaders to reconsider.
In a media briefing Friday, Oakland Fire Department Chief Damon Covington said each six-month closure will save the city about $2.5 million. But, Covington noted that the city's decision will be "rolling the dice" on emergency calls where seconds matter.
"I don’t want the misconception that there’s no impact here, because there is an impact, there’s a great amount of impact. What our job is, is to figure out how we can lessen that impact to the public," Covington said Friday.
Residents of Oakland's Grass Valley neighborhood gathered outside Station 28 Sunday night to oppose the closure of their local station.
"I can say this station has been here ever since I went to Grass Valley Elementary School," said Maya Spencer, a lifelong Grass Valley resident. "When my grandmother had a heart attack in 2014, this station was the first to respond."
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William King, another Grass Valley neighbor and a retired firefighter, noted, "Don’t close any fire station, but this shouldn’t be one of the first ones you close."
King said that the Grass Valley neighborhood, in particular, doesn't have many routes in and out, which makes having a fire station close by especially important.
"If they close this station, it's going to be a delayed response, considerably," King added.
With the closure of Station 28, the next closest fire station is Station 26 on 98th Avenue, about 2 miles away.
Three fire stations will end up being closed because the third is already shut down for renovations.
The closures are particularly unsettling for residents given the city's history with wildfires. Station 28 is about 3 miles away from the site of the Keller Fire, which burned 15 acres this fall. Station 25 is about 3 miles away from where the deadly 1991 Oakland firestorm took place.
"I’m concerned because the fire department’s a vital resource to have, especially with all the forests that are around here and having a lot more fires, I think it's really important to make sure we can be safe," said Grass Valley neighbor Brian Zeichick, who has lived in the area for two decades.
Covington told the media Friday that part of the reason why the department chose to close two stations in the Oakland hills was that the area is not currently in peak fire season, and the city would theoretically be able to re-open those stations in time for the months known for more active fires. Covington said the department used data analysis to determine which stations to close in hopes of having the least impact on the community.
The news of the closures feels abrupt and confusing to Grass Valley neighbors, many of whom say they are seeing their home insurance policies dropped due to wildfire risk.
Zeichick noted that Station 28 staff don't just respond to emergencies in Grass Valley, they also work one-on-one with residents to help them make their properties more fire-safe.
"Every year, they come out to make sure that all the grass and everything is cut, and I think that’s really important," Zeichick said. "If you cut that resource, we’re more likely to have a bad fire here. So having a fire department that’s close that can handle smaller situations I think is really important."
Neighbor Sophia Hammet recently moved into the neighborhood and said the nearby fire station was a big factor in her decision to move there. Hammet said the decision from the city to close the station "just seemed really sudden."
The neighbors' concerns have made their way to Ken Houston, who will be inaugurated as the Oakland City Council member representing District 7, which includes Grass Valley. Houston said it's his priority to get Station 28 reopened as soon as possible.
"I just made some phone calls about it, and we're gonna fight to get this back open," he said.
Houston worries that with Station 28 temporarily closed, "if a senior needs some help, in an emergency, we have to wait for another fire station to come up the hill and go through. What if it's something where they can’t get by?"
Neighbors say they urgently want to see the station reopened.
"I hope they can change around shutting the station down because it’s vital in our community," Maya Spencer emphasized.
