As firefighters continue to battling blazes throughout Northern California, one local fire department is finally getting a the break it deserves.
The Ceres Fire Department was at risk of losing a second fire station after one closed earlier this year, bringing the total to four. At the June 25 Ceres City Council meeting, the department found out it won't be losing another.
Not only did councilmembers vote to keep three fire stations within the budget, but the department will also hire four more firefighters and a fire chief, something they haven't had in a year.
Currently, the Ceres Fire Department has 23 firefighters staffed at three fire stations serving about 60,000 people, according to Mike Miller, the President of Ceres Professional Firefighters Local 3636.
The National Fire Protection Association recommends one firefighter per 1,000 residents. According to the Local 3636 union, Ceres only has less than half of that.
They also projected that closing another fire station meant seven to 10 minute response times at least. The national recommendation is no longer than four minutes.
Emergency calls are answered by Ceres Fire, Modesto Fire and Stanislaus Consolidated, depending on what resources are closest.
Miller said the station that was at risk of closing is in the northern Ceres area, just south of Modesto. He added that it was highly needed because there are a lot of old buildings and low-income neighborhoods in the area.
Miller said he hopes to have those additional firefighters in the next three to four months. He said hiring a new fire chief could take upwards of six months. The city manager has been the acting fire chief for the past year.
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