Grant reopens Calif. fire station

By Arlene Martinez 
The Ventura County Star

VENTURA, Calif. — The view from Rick Gulden's kitchen window might not be the prettiest in town, but for 30 years it's been comforting.

It frames the side of Ventura Fire Station 4, a next-door neighbor Gulden was particularly happy to have when he gashed his hand open with a saw. Although the station closed in July 2010 because of city budget cuts, Gulden occasionally swept leaves off the property, as though keeping the place ready for friends he knew would return.

Those friends returned Wednesday when Fire Station 4 reopened to little fanfare at 8303 Telephone Road.

It's back in business because of a $2.3 million federal grant that's paying for its first two years of operation. To receive the grant, the city had to agree to keep it open a third year, which Ventura plans to do by tapping its ambulance fund.

It costs $1.2 million per year to run the station, which was never completely abandoned. The Fire Department still held training exercises there and kept up the landscaping.

Maybe no one driving by the small, olive-colored building noticed anything different Wednesday morning, but for Fire Chief Kevin Rennie, the reopening of Station 4 quelled 18 months of anxiety.

"I drove by this station every day, twice a day for a year and a half," said Rennie, who like other neighborhood residents lost his closest fire responder.

Its lonely presence re minded him daily: "This station's closed, and we need to work hard to get it open," Rennie said. "So today's a happy day." Nine people will staff the station, with a captain, an engineer and a firefighterparamedic each being part of the three rotations.

Station 4 opened more than 50 years ago and is one of six stations in Ventura .

When severe budget shortfalls necessitated closing a station, Station 4 was chosen because officials determined it would affect response times the least for the fewest people.

Residents served by Station 4 instead got help from Station 3 (more than three miles away on Telegraph Road), Station 6 (more than two miles away on Darling Road) or whichever crew was closest at the time of an incident.

Rennie admits response times slowed throughout the city, as the Fire Department had to split resources, and firefighters began traveling greater distances.

Marian Spencer, who has lived a block from Station 4 since the 1960s, experienced that firsthand. Though the station crew's presence was always comforting, she never had reason to call on it - until it was gone.

A few months ago, Spencer said, she waited 10 minutes for emergency crews to arrive when her husband needed help - fire departments are often the first responders for medical calls.

He turned out to be OK, but Spencer didn't like the wait. "We're delighted it's reopening," she said.

Others are pleased, too. Down the street, about 100 children attend Eastminster Sonshine Preschool.

"We've always felt very fortunate to have such a close 911 response," Director Jean Callahan said, "though we haven't needed it."

In addition to being an emergency provider, Callahansaid, thefirefightersalways delighted the children with visits to show off their gear and trucks and, sometimes, by letting kids turn on the hose.

The city hasn't determined what will happen when the grants and ambulance fund money runs out, which will happen four months into the 2014-15 fiscal year, CityManager Rick Cole said.

"(The City Council) has said we want a plan by the end of the first year, so that's our job," Cole said.

Reducing salaries, merging with the county Fire Department, closing the station once again - nothing is off the table, Cole said. "It's a huge relief for us to be back to full staffing of six stations, but we have not solved the underlying mismatching between community expectations and tax revenue," he said. "This is not a solution; it's a bridge to us finding a solution."

An official grand opening will be open to the public at 10 a.m. Jan. 21 at Station 4.

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