Fresno Fire adds new vehicles, firefighters to improve services

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- As Fresno continues to grow, the Fresno Fire Department is looking for ways to enhance its services to the community. The department is now adding to its force with new vehicles and firefighters.

Three new apparatuses hit Fresno streets Tuesday.

According to the department, the new rigs will respond to medical emergencies, reducing the workload of its existing fire engines.

Less than an hour after the vehicles' unveiling, a squad from Fire Station 3 downtown took off with the new truck for its first medical call.

Fresno Fire Chief Kerri Donis said the majority of the fire department's calls are for health problems. She said crews respond to around 45,000 calls a year -- 75% of them are medical emergencies.

"This squad will likely pick up anywhere between 1,200 to 1,500 calls right now," said Chief Donis.

Two firefighters will staff each truck -- one is at Station 3, another is at Station 4, and the third is at Station 5.

According to the fire chief, these are the city's busiest stations.

"They will pick up the majority of the medical emergency calls because they are quicker, they're faster and a more efficient tool in a service-delivery model," she said.

One firefighter is looking forward to shorter response times with the new vehicles.

"This should help us expedite and get us to wherever we need to be a little bit faster," explained Eric Mitchell.

New faces are also coming to the department. Daily staffing now increases from 81 to 88.

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said this is just the beginning as the city and fire department work to solve staffing issues.

"Next month, we'll be adding another firefighter recruit class and even more fire crews to the city of Fresno," the mayor shared.

The president of Fresno Firefighters Local 202 compared Fresno's staffing to other California cities, saying those departments are able to follow the nationwide standard of four people to a vehicle. Fresno has been at three, but not for long.

"So making that jump, that's huge for firefighter safety," said Dean Sanders. "It enables us to tackle tasks much quicker on scene."

By May, Fresno Fire will have 95 firefighters staffed a day. Both the mayor and fire chief are expecting that to reach the triple digits in the future.