Alameda Fire Department
Information about the SAFER Grant
The Alameda Firefighters Association is assisting the City of Alameda Fire Department in seeking Federal Funds through FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security. Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Program (SAFER) Grants (under the Hiring of Firefighters Activity) enable Fire Departments to re-hire firefighter positions that were lost due to a combination of lay-offs, budget reductions, and attrition.
These refilled positions will be utilized to have two of the City of Alameda’s four fire engine companies become complaint with the minimum staffing requirement established by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 1710, providing an efficient and improved deployment of the fire department for both the community and the firefighters.
SAFER grants for the rehiring of firefighters provide fire departments with funding to pay 100 percent of the salaries and benefits and have a two-year period of performance. There is no requirement for rehiring grantees to retain the SAFER-funded firefighters after the two-year period of performance. Fire Departments that receive grants must maintain their staffing at the level that existed at the time of application as well as the SAFER-funded staffing for the two-year period of performance.
On April 1, 2009, the Alameda Fire Department closed Fire Station Five on Alameda Point (a single engine company station staffed with three firefighters) as a part of a city-wide budget reduction.
On July 1, 2009, as part of the 2009 – 2010 City of Alameda budget, Alameda eliminated 64 city employee positions (10%), including 11 from the Fire Department. Personnel reductions with this loss caused the lay-off of one Captain and two Apparatus Operators back to their former positions within the fire department. As a result, three firefighters received lay-off notices. Two of these layoffs occurred in June, 2009, and one was scheduled for December, 2009. The City of Alameda has no ability to restore any of these positions for at least 24 – 36 months. Since 2008, the fire department has reduced its force by 19 sworn positions (from 111 to 92).
The closure of Station Five, and resulting reduction in force, has dramatically decayed the response ability of the Alameda Fire Department to Alameda Point, the adjoining District Two and has negatively impacted fire responses citywide.
A recent data study completed by the Alameda Fire Department Administrative Staff comparing specific periods in 2008 to the same in 2009 demonstrates a dramatic increase in response times to District 5.
In 2008, the Alameda Fire Department responded to fire and EMS calls within the NFPA 1710 response time guideline (first unit only) 64.3% of the time. In 2009, this percentage dropped to 28.3%.
Further analyzed, the average response time to an EMS call in District Five for 2008 was 4 min, 45 seconds and in 2009, 6 min, 6 seconds. The response to a fire call in District Five was 4 min, 33 seconds in 2008, and has increased to 7 min, 9 seconds in 2009.
This study factored in Alameda fire companies which are staffed with only three firefighters. NFPA 1710 requires deployment of four firefighters arriving at the scene within four minutes 90% of the time.
With the closure of Station Five, the west-end firefighters and residents of Alameda are now at a greater risk due to an increase in response time for the fire department to respond from Station Two. In addition, citizens and firefighters on the Bay Farm Island peninsula area of Alameda at the southeast end of the city are also at a risk due to their isolation from other fire stations and limited access. The overall reduction in force of on-duty firefighters has had a negative affect on fire responses city-wide.
Since most working structure fires in Alameda require the deployment of all on-duty firefighters, adding the re-hired firefighter positions to Station Two and Station Four will benefit the firefighters and community city-wide. The closure of Station Five and subsequent lay-offs reduced the available amount of daily on-duty personnel by three, placing the remaining on-duty firefighters and community at risk. If awarded the SAFER Grant, the City of Alameda would be able to re-hire for some of those positions lost due to a combination of lay-offs and attrition, and provide two additional on-duty firefighters each day.
To re-hire firefighters, the City of Alameda would first utilize the Displaced Firefighter List, maintained by the California Fire Foundation Joint Apprenticeship Committee (CFFJAC). This list provides firefighter candidates who were laid-off from other jurisdictions, and brings people back to work.
With the re-hiring for six firefighter positions, it is estimated there would be a cost savings to the City due to reductions in overtime spending.