Contra Costa Fire Officials Prepare For Station Closures
PLEASANT HILL (KCBS) – The Contra Costa Fire Protection District is shutting down four fire stations after a parcel tax measure failed at the ballot box earlier this month.
The defeat of Measure Q prompted the Contra Costa Fire Protection District to make plans for shutting down the stations.
Fire Captain and union leader Vince Wells said the district still needs to chop expenses.
KCBS' Dave Padilla Reports:
"We have roughly an $18 million budget deficit. We're looking at up to 8-10 stations (closing) ultimately between now and the budget year 2014-15," said Wells.
The Contra Costa Fire Protection District covers more than 300 miles. Wells said he knows which fire stations are closing, but is not at liberty to speak about it. One thing is for sure though, affected communities will feel the impact.
"Everyone's pretty much going to be equally impacted regardless of whether the fire station is the closest one to your home or business," he said.
The East Contra Costa Fire District tried to pas a parcel tax earlier this year but it didn't have much success. The district was fortunate to have a federal grant come through that helped ease budget cuts.
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