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Firefighters block bid for a new station
Saratoga fire district has scrapped bond measure
By Steve Enders
In a surprise rebuttal to an effort by the Saratoga Fire District to build a new fire station, its own firefighters have effectively derailed the whole process and would rather form a partial merger with the Santa Clara County Central Fire District than build a new station.
Just as fire trucks went screaming out of the historic, 76-year-old station to respond to an auto accident on Aug. 11, the SFD Board of Fire Commissioners was holding a brief emergency meeting inside to deal with the developing situation.
The three commissioners voted unanimously to pull the measure from the ballot because of the firefighters' response, only weeks after the commission had decided to take the measure to voters.
The commission had to decide by 5 p.m. that day whether it would still pursue the measure, and it now cannot re-submit the paperwork to make the upcoming November ballot.
A visibly upset Chief Ernie Kraule had few words before or after the meeting but said in a written statement that while everyone in the department agrees on the concept of a new station, "different perspectives within the department" are causing a struggle over how to best serve the citizens of Saratoga. "We'll be taking time over the next few months to reach consensus on these issues," the statement reads.
For the past few months, Kraule has been spending time in the community building interest and disseminating information on the needs of the department to build a seismically safe station. Just three weeks ago, the SFD was comfortable enough with the level of interest it had garnered around town to proceed with plans to go to voters with the proposal.
The SFD estimates it would need about $6 million to build the new station, which was only in the conceptual stages of development. No final plans for the new station have been drawn.
While the top brass isn't talking much, firefighters of the International Association of Firefighters Local 3875 are.
The five-member firefighters' executive board voted at a meeting three weeks ago to begin an effort to partially merge with the Santa Clara County Central Fire District. If that's done, they believe, Saratoga will get better overall service from the department.
"We all agree that we need a new station," union President Bill Morrison said, "just not as big as they're proposing."
According to firefighters at the station, a steering committee to pursue an agreement with the county has also been formed and a telephone information line has been established to answer the public's questions.
With a smaller building, Morrison said, the SFD could ask for less money from voters and put more money into services. If any bond measure passed, however, the money would need to be used on facilities only.
"I'm concerned with our response," Morrison said. "We only get five or six people that get sent out at a time, and if it gets out of hand it takes a long time to get mutual aid."
With county firefighters at their side, Morrison said, responses could easily bring extra manpower and trucks to emergency scenes. Additionally, the firefighters say, merging would allow administration and dispatch services to be cut from the SFD building and instead be done through the county. Furthermore, extra county units could be housed at the station for use when necessary.
The SFD serves about half of the city's residents, and also responds to other emergencies, depending on their location. County fire serves those areas that the SFD does not.
The SFD already calls for county trucks to assist in certain emergencies, which can take extra time if additional trucks or firefighters are needed, firefighters say. When they are, county trucks usually come from either Cupertino or Los Gatos, and sometimes from as far away as Los Altos and San Jose.
The firefighters had drafted an argument against the initiative for the voters' ballot literature had the initiative been pursued by the SFD.
The response urges a "no" vote, cites the need for increased services and argues for a county merger because fire departments in Los Altos, Campbell and Morgan Hill have all contracted additional fire services from the county.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
