From the Co-President's Desk
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#12 on Hancock Drive and Station 14 on Airport Road. These overlapping coverage areas have been the justification for several attempts by city management to close Station #9 dating back to 1970. Beating back that attempt led indirectly to formation of the Neighborhood Association. The most recent attempt was in 1987.
Some of the maps we have seen from the AFD this time shows Station #9 closed and all responsibility delegated to adjacent stations. Chief Warren stresses that his plan to reduce the resources committed to our station is an alternative to closing it altogether. He also said that he had offered the station to the head of the Emergency Medical Service Department as an EMS Station and that offer was declined. Much earlier I heard what I believe is a very well-founded report that a very high placed city administrator had asked a member of the neighborhood what the community reaction would be to closing the station if the city were then to lease it to HPNA for a token amount, to be used for whatever use we could think of. By comparison to these suggestions, the reduction from a four person engine to a two-person mini-pumper looks like the least bad option.
A fourth option that we in the neighborhood would overwhelmingly prefer would be to continue staffing and equipment assigned as they are presently. This can only happen at the direction of the City Council and would require them find some other place to get the approximately $500,000.00 savings that is anticipated from the downsizing at Station #9. The city budget crisis is the reason this issue has re-emerged now. For those who have not been following the news, the city is facing a deficit of many millions of dollars, due mostly to reduced sales tax revenue. The budget will have to be cut, or taxes increased, or both. It appears that, unlike last year, both the Fire and Police Departments will see some reductions over the budgets they otherwise would have had.
Some addition information:
- The maps the AFD has made available showing coverage areas are based on 3.5-minute response times. This is, in itself, a reduction from the former standard of 3.0 minutes. The response time is from when the units involved are dispatched which in turn is said to be 20-30 seconds from when the call is received by the 911 operator. In the course of discussions with AFD, we saw a planning map labeled as four minute response time areas so even further reductions in citywide protection have been contemplated.
- We also learned that the AFD uses 1.75 and 2.0 inch diameter hoses rather than the formerly standard 2 1/2 inch hoses. They believe one fire fighter, not necessarily a "fireman", can handle these hoses while the larger hoses required two to three handlers. The smaller hoses flow about 200 gallons per minute, so a mini-pumper
