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Oakland councilmembers unveil plan to keep fire stations open
Two shuttered Oakland fire stations could reopen and four others would no longer be closed under a resolution by several councilmembers.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Oakland City Councilwoman Janani Ramachandran has helped introduce a resolution that could reopen two fire stations and prevent the closure of four others.
"We cannot risk having any resources missing that would prevent us from protecting our communities in the face of wildfires," Ramachandran said. "This has been truly, truly an enormous task of finding every last penny possible that could go towards reopening our fire stations."
Funding sources
Dig deeper:
Ramachandran, along with councilmembers Zac Unger and Rebecca Kaplan, says they've found $8 million that could be used to save the fire stations.
Ramachandran said the money would include $2.6 million from an uptick in sales and revenue via the Joint Powers Authority, which manages the Oakland Coliseum.
Money would also come from increased parking revenues, a bond measure and the city's self-liability insurance fund, Ramachandran said.
"There's more money than we need in that fund to resolve pending litigation," she said.
Large fire broke out near closed station
The backstory:
Last month, the city temporarily closed two fire stations, including Station 28 in the Chabot Park neighborhood.
And just days later, firefighters from stations further away took three times as long to arrive at a house fire near the closed station.
Seth Olyer, president of the Oakland firefighters union, helped fight that fire.
"I know that these budget discussions are really tough, there's only so many ways you can cut this pie up. The reality is that we need more pie," Olyer said.
Unger, who was an Oakland firefighter for 27 years, said, "We would not be able to perform the function that the citizens of Oakland expect us to do had we closed four fire stations."
Unger added, "This legislation is key to providing for safety and security of not just Oakland citizens but Oakland firefighters, who put themselves in the line of risk every single day."
In a statement, Fire Chief Damon Covington said, in part, "I'm hopeful that there are viable options being discussed to reopen the closed firehouses and prevent additional closures."
Henry Lee is a KTVU reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan
The Source: Interviews, previous KTVU reporting