Calif. city to hire 6 firefighters

By Irma Widjojo
The Vallejo Times Herald

VALLEJO, Calif. — The cash-strapped Vallejo Fire Department will hire six firefighters in June, three through a federal grant, officials said.

The current budget calls for 71 firefighters, but the department only has 68 due to retirements.

"We're not anywhere near where we need to be as a fire department from a personnel standpoint," said Battalion Chief Paige Meyer, who is in charge of departmental hiring.

Though the three people hired through the SAFER grant will increase the number of firefighters to 74, the positions will be offered with a caveat.

The grant only allows for a two-year employment period.

The nearly $1 million grant will pay the salaries, benefits and pensions for the three firefighters over the two-year period.

"When we offer the positions, we will tell them up front about the situation," Meyer said.

Interim Fire Chief Doug Robertson said he is optimistic that even though the positions are offered on a temporary-basis, they will remain attractive.

"The economy's tough and people will take any job they can," Robertson said.

Vallejo's city manager Phil Batchelor said that the three extra positions would be a "temporary relief" for the fire department.

"Because of reduced staffing, firefighters are getting on overload," Batchelor said. "This will provide a temporary relief. The three firefighters will be hired with the understanding that if there isn't sufficient attrition, they'll have to go at the end of the grant."

There are about half as many firefighters in Vallejo as seven years ago, according to city figures. Three fire stations have been shut down in the past three years.

Robertson and Meyer agreed that there should be enough attrition by the end of the grant to allow the three firefighters to be hired permanently.

"Of course we can't promise anything," Meyer said. "But we predict that there will be enough retirements by next year."

When asked how the city would determine who will be hired as permanent firefighters and who would be grant-funded, Meyer had no definite answer.

About 40 people, a number with Vallejo ties, were interviewed for the six positions, Meyer said.

"We are really happy with the diversity and quality of the applicants," he added.

Conditional offers, pending medical and background checks, will be extended by Wednesday, and the six new hires will go through the fire academy in the beginning of July, Meyer said.

The fire department is also working on applying for more grants, including another SAFER grant that could allow the department to hire nine more people.

"Any increase of service for the community is a good thing, even only for two years," Meyer said. "It might be a short-term fix, but it will buy ourselves some time while allowing the economy to rebound."

Station 21, at 1220 Marin St., will host an open house to introduce the community to the fire company and its new ladder truck from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 12.

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