Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Hot Wheels: David Scocca and Charles O'Connor inspect the equipment at Willow Glen's Fire Station Six. Even though the city's projected budget deficit has become a surplus, the station is slated to lose one truck and one firefighter.
Firefighters and their City Council ally fume over planned cuts at Station Six
Retired firefighter John Diquisto rallies to protect Hose Wagon Six and one local position
By Jessica Lyons
San Jose has 30 fire engines, spread throughout the city in 30 fire stations. Only one of those stations, Willow Glen's Fire Station Six, has an old-fashioned "hose wagon"--built back in the 1950s, designed to do nothing but carry a firehose. If proposed budget cuts pass through city council in coming weeks, that piece of equipment--along with one of the station's five firefighters--will be history.
That has some locals flaming mad. Officials from Local 230 of the firefighters' union, as well as District 9 Councilmember John Diquisto--a retired fireman himself--say getting rid of the hose wagon and eliminating the position puts the Willow Glen neighhborhood in danger.
Facing an estimated $4 million city-wide operating budget deficit, city manager Debra Figone in November asked all departments of the city to make cuts to their operating budgets. Already running his department on what he considers a shoestring, and in the process of opening a new firehouse, fire chief William Staples proposed delaying new hires, shifting existing personnel around within the department, and moving equipment to avoid costly building projects.
Last week, when the estimated budget deficit became a $5.3 million surplus, the fire department's proposed budget cuts remained, fanning the flames of Diquisto's and the union's anger.
The City Council will review the proposed budget cuts this week, and is scheduled to approve a final version of the budget June 29. Unless Diquisto has anything to say about it.
"The city thinks they can reduce the capacity of the station, and that there's really nothing to worry about because there's nothing but old fogies in Willow Glen," Diquisto says. "I can't support this budget that will cut away at public safety.
"I'm the only qualified firefighter on this damn Council and it makes little or no sense to me. The city manager--and anyone else who says we don't need these firefighters--can go right to hell if I'm going to have to sacrifice the safety of my grandchildren, and my future."
According to Budget Director Larry Lisenbee, the surplus money will go into a general fund, which the city council can use at its discretion. He adds that the proposed cuts really wouldn't hurt the fire department at all.
At press time, Willow Glen's District 6 Councilmember Frank Fiscalini did not have an official position on the fire department's proposed budget cuts.
Hose Wagon Six is the last hose wagon in San Jose. The city used to have about eight, which have all been retired and replaced with full service engines, boasting more powerful hoses, and an EMS position. The historic hose wagon has been up for retirement before, in the '80s, but thanks to protests by local residents, it remained in Willow Glen. Right now, hose six is primarily used as a backup vehicle to Engine Six. It accompanies Engine Six to fires and medical emergencies, but it can only respond alone to about three percent of the calls to Station Six, including small brush fires and non-emergency situations.
"The only change to Station Six will be that you won't have a second piece of apparatus," Lisenbee says.
"I live in Willow Glen, I watch out for that area just like I do the rest of the city," Chief Staples says. "The coverage for the Willow Glen area and Engine Six area will be at the same level as every other station in the city."
Photograph by Skye Dunlap
A Sense of Place: Firefighter Bill Bodero studies a map of the area at Willow Glen's Fire Station Six.
The firemen at Station Six tell a different story.
"We don't want to lose our hose engine," says Station Six Captain John Castro. "The fire protection that Willow Glen is supposed to have is being compromised. It's a disservice to our citizens."
"The fire department responds to numerous calls," Castro continues. "When people need something, they call the fire department, whether that be help getting out of bed, or 'I smell gas in the kitchen,' they call the fire department."
When a frantic neighbor calls because her kitty is stuck in a tree, Castro sends the hose wagon to the rescue. But if the hose wagon retires, Engine Six will respond to similar non-emergencies.
"Now, if that happens, and I send my engine out, and we get a real emergency, guess what?" Castro asks. The next closest stations are either Station Four, near City College, or Station 30, near the Children's Discovery Museum downtown.
Members of Firefighters Local 230 on Lincoln Avenue say the proposed budget cuts point to a larger issue--understaffing within the entire department. And they point to figures to back this claim.
According to the 1998 National Survey of Fire Departments, representing 335 departments in the nation, a city the size of San Jose should have 1,067 total personnel, San Jose has 770. San Jose is also 200 firefighters short in the number of response personnel, according to the survey. The study also says San Jose should have 42 fire stations and 39 engines, instead of the existing 30 each.
"I understand it's the city's obligation to run an efficient and streamlined budget, but the city runs its fire department on a bare-bones staffing as it is," says Randy Sekany, president of San Jose Fire Fighters. "There's no meat on the bones, there's no fat to trim, there's no marrow on the bones.
"We're running at an unacceptable risk level. I don't care what they say--if you take a body out of Station Six, it's going to diminish service."
Currently the San Jose Fire Department is undergoing an intensive study to create a master plan, projecting future demand for fire services. "The department's position has always been we do need new staffing, the entire department is understaffed," Chief Staples says, "But the position I need to take--in terms of the strategic plan--is we need to look at the entire department before we look at any [specific] changes."
In the meantime, the battle to keep the hose wagon and five firefighters at Station Six, spearheaded by Diquisto and Local 230 continues to heat up.
"I feel very comfortable and I've been alone before," Diquisto says. "I'm the guy that's picked up that dead child and walked out the door wondering why we didn't have more fire fighters! You never ever lose those memories--they get implanted into your mind and they stay there forever. You do everything right and you lose people, and to think that they want to handicap you on top of that is unbearable for me."
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
