After three months of postponing a discussion to bring the Colusa Fire Department staffing to what Chief Logan Conley said might be a manageable level, the City Council voted 3-1-0 in favor of hiring a per diem firefighter to aid with daily shift duties, 24-hour shift relief, and to help respond to emergency calls.
Conley said his firefighters have been working too many hours, which could lead to harm to firefighters or negligence on his part. He gave the department’s response to the massive wildfire caused by fireworks on July 4 as an example of his staff working nearly around the clock.
” My guys cant sustain it,” Conley said. ” We are a ticking time bomb. If we keep working 450-500 hours, one of them will die; one will have a heart attack; one could make a bad decision and get someone else killed because they are exhausted. Im exhausted.
Mayor Pro-tem Tom Reishe and council members Greg Ponciano and Denise Conrado voted in favor of adding $36,000 to the departments budget for the extra help.
Councilman Daniel Vaca opposed and Mayor Josh Hill was absent.
It was Conrado who had requested the matter be taken up by the City Council after City Manager Jesse Cain blocked the discussion in July despite direction from Mayor Hill to have Conleys request for a firefighter position presented to the council at the July 20 meeting.
Cain also removed two Police Department positions, a Public Works position, a financial analyst position, and a building/code enforcement position to present a $251,000 budget deficit for City Council approval instead of a $650,000 projected deficit.
Despite the budget, which city officials hope to overcome by midyear with expected new or actual revenue, the council answered Conleys impassioned plea for help.
Vaca opposed hiring a per diem firefighter position to help cover fire services while city staff is away providing mutual aid to neighboring agencies or on out-of-county Strike Team deployments.
Vaca suggested the decision to participate in Strike Team rather than stay home to defend Colusa could be viewed as selfish because Strike Team firefighters stand to gain financially.
Conley agreed the decision for firefighters and fire departments to aid other agencies is, in part, for the money, but found the suggestion that providing mutual aid to other jurisdictions as selfish ” offensive.
Conley asked Vaca what would have happened if there had been no mutual aid to put out the wildfire burning just outside the city on the Fourth of July.
” Would anyone accuse the other departments of making money by coming in to help us as selfish, or would you be eternally grateful?” he asked.
In addition to firefighters augmenting Colusas low salaries to participate in Strike Team, Conley said Strike Team money has been used to pay off the citys debt on the Type 1 ladder engine, buy a new Type 6 engine with equipment, and buy a command vehicle that doubles as a basic ambulance, among other necessities.
The majority of three council members ultimately agreed the value of the extra help outweighed the expense.
” In exchange for $250,000 in revenue for the city, I think its pretty fair to give the fire department $36,000 for a year-round per diem firefighter – basically someone to fill shifts at minimum wage,” Ponciano said.
Conley said he expects Colusa firefighters would be called to aid with wildfires burning around the state, and that the extra help would be needed.
Fueled by hot and dry weather, the Dixie Fire in Plumas County has been burning for three weeks, and is now the 10th largest wildfire in California history.
Ponciano said after the meeting, it wasnt just the right thing for Colusa financially, but the moral thing to do to provide help to fire agencies in need.
On average, a total of 60 firefighters and 30 volunteer firefighters die each year in the United States while serving the public, according to the National Fire Protection Association. –