Fresno budget proposals raise concerns about fire funding and response

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- As the weather warms, we've seen several fast-spreading and intense fires.

So, while the City of Fresno negotiates its budget, talks about cutting the fire department's funding are drawing concern from the Fresno Firefighters Association.

"They definitely are cuts that are going to be felt both by our members and the public," said Dean Sanders, Fresno Firefighter's Association President

Fire Chief Billy Alcorn said the department must defund 13 positions to stay within the budget given.

The cuts come just a year after Fresno City Fire received a Federal SAFER Grant to add 45 firefighters.

Now, the city is responsible for funding those positions.

Some of the cuts being considered include reducing staffing from four to three firefighters at Station 16 in West Central Fresno and cutting a squad dedicated to medical calls.

At Wednesday's council meeting, Councilmember Mike Karbassi suggested they cut two medical squads instead of reducing staffing.

City Manager Georgeanne White raised concerns given the number of calls the medical squads respond to.

"Why we went for the SAFER grant was also firefighter fatigue, right for the sheer volume of calls," said White. "These squads have taken seven thousand calls. Seven thousand calls off of the plate of the stations."

White said cutting the two medical squads would put those calls back on the engines, adding to firefighter fatigue and wear and tear on equipment.

Fresno Firefighters Association President Dean Sanders said those squads also keep engines available for more significant calls.

However, he also said that reducing the staffing on an engine is a bad idea, as it limits their ability to respond when they need to go into a burning building.

"That's only leaving one person on the outside versus two people on the outside, and my biggest concern on that is if you're going to send in the engineer and firefighter to go get the person, the captains going to stay outside, that means nobodies handling anything to do with water at that point," said Sanders."

Karbassi is hopeful they can avoid cutting either firefighters or medical squads, and is looking at other areas where reductions can be made.

"We have a very strong, robust funded pension system and it is overfunded by the tune of like 16% above being fully funded," said Karbassi. "If we can make an arrangement with our pension board and be able to reduce that funding, that can bring millions of dollars back in not only to make our fire department whole, but other departments as well."

The city declined to comment on the budget stating they don't comment during negotiations.

A fire department spokesperson directed Action News to reach out to the city when asked for an interview.

Negotiations are still continuing. The budget must be adopted by June 30th.

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