San Jose firefighters are pushing to reopen a station that’s been closed for years. Ian Cull reports.
San Jose firefighters are pushing to reopen a station that’s been closed for years.
San Jose Fire Station 33 used to serve the thousands of people who live on Communications Hill in San Jose.
The station was only open for three and a half years before the city shut it down to cut the budget. Now, the firefighters want it back open.
“So, we want to ensure that moving forward that public safety and city services are a priority,” said Jerry May, President of SJ Firefighters Local 230.
The station’s been closed for nearly 15 years and the union says response times have lagged in this area without it, for both medical and fire calls.
“The next closest engine could take anywhere from 8-10 minutes. That, to us, is the determination between life and death,” May said.
As San Jose works to close a new budget deficit, the union is urging city leaders not to eliminate vacant position, but fill them instead to fully staff fire stations.
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“We have 0.65 firefighters for every 1,000 residents. By comparison, the city of San Francisco has nearly two firefighters for every 1,000 residents,” said Greg Tuyor, San Jose Battalion Chief, Local 230.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s budget message talks about the need to ensure adequate fire staffing levels. He released the following statement Wednesday:
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“I will not support any cuts to our fire department’s current service level — especially in the wake of the devastating fires in la and recently released analysis that shows increased fire risk in parts of our city,”
And on the budget shortfall Mahan said the following: “We can close our small remaining deficit by getting creative — not cutting services that save lives.”
The union said they’re calling on the San Jose City Council to find 'real solutions' to hire enough firefighters.
