Darrell Smith
The Sacramento Bee
(TNS)
Metro Fire’s Station 41 in North Highlands holds a special place for the men and women who have passed through its doors. For many it was their first stop in the fire service, the proving ground that readied them for life as firefighters.
But increasingly the 1950s-era building on Thomas Drive at Elkhorn Boulevard has become a symbol of the fire district’s aging inventory. From station houses to engines to equipment, Metro fire officials say its age is showing at precisely the time when the agency’s costs and demands are greater than ever.
Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District is sounding the alarm. Metro Fire is asking voters to approve a bond Nov. 5 it says is needed to provide firefighters with new engines and equipment, while refurbishing decades-old station houses and building new ones in the neighborhoods that need them most.
“We have stations that are 40-50 years old. Some are 80 years old. They’re not set up for modern fire services,” said Parker Wilbourn, a Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District battalion chief and spokesman.
The call comes with a cost: $415 million over 35 years — the bond expires in 2061 — but Metro Fire officials and the bond’s supporters say Sacramento County’s Measure O is the best chance yet to replace what they say is outdated and deteriorating equipment.
“We’re up to about a 40% increase (in calls) over the last 10 years. We’re doing a lot more with less,” Wilbourn said. “We’re doing what we can but with the increase in population we have to have the infrastructure to support that. We’re not in a position to do that without (funds).”
Measure O would cost $19 per $100,000 of assessed value, about $78 per year, for the typical property taxpayer, say Metro Fire officials. No money goes to pay salaries or meet pension obligations.
Sacramento Taxpayers Association is typically skeptical of bond measures, but is neutral on Measure O. In a statement, the local taxpayers’ advocates called the costs Metro Fire face “substantial,” saying fire district officials were “forthcoming” in answering its concerns about the ballot measure.
“Sac Tax has verified none of the funds for this bond measure will be used for salaries or pension obligations. Sac Tax has also reviewed the costs of new facilities and equipment which are substantial,” the statement read. “Sac Tax believes Metro Fire has been forthcoming about providing answers to the questions Sac Tax asked in our ballot argument. Sac Tax’s position on Measure O is neutral.”
Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District is one of the largest fire agencies in California. Its 41 stations serve more than 720,000 people across 359 square miles of unincorporated Sacramento County, the cities of Citrus Heights and Rancho Cordova as well as a portion of Placer County.
Metro crews responded to some 110,000 calls for service last year, a 40% increase in fire emergencies and a 30% increase in medical emergencies from 10 years ago, say officials. About 5,000 of those came out of North Highlands’ Station 41 alone.
The increased demand, officials said, has pushed one of the state’s largest fire agencies to its limits.
“Our demand has overstretched revenues,” Wilbourn said. “What we take in, these monies are not keeping up with inflation.”
Examples are easy to cite, Wilbourn said.
Metro Fire purchased 20 engines in 2011. More than a decade later, many of those have reached 200,000 miles or more. Fire officials say nearly three of every four of the rigs will reach the end of their lifespans in the next three to five years but the cost to replace them continues to rise.
The typical cost of a fire engine in 2019 was about $750,000, Wilbourn said. The same engine five years o