Ishani Desai
The Sacramento Bee
(TNS)
Reality Check is a Bee series holding officials and organizations accountable and shining a light on their decisions. Have a tip? Email realitycheck@sacbee.com.
The Folsom Fire Department proposed reassigning firefighters away from serving a critical fire station as questions swirl over potential cuts to city departments amid a multimillion dollar budget deficit, according to internal memos.
Folsom Fire Chief Ken Cusano presented a “strategic reassignment” to remove a fire engine from Station 38, according to a memo dated Monday obtained by The Sacramento Bee. An ambulance would remain at the station with firefighters.
Monday’s memo followed questions and claims last week that Station 38, located at 1300 Blue Ravine Road, would close by Oct. 1. “Engine 38 is placed in the middle of the city and a critical apparatus for both fire suppression and emergency medical service response,” according to the social media post, made by an account called the Folsom Firefighters Association.
The Folsom City Council has not voted on cutting city departments or reallocating resources to close a $3 million budget deficit in the upcoming months. The City Council voted to approve a $266 million budget in June, conditioned on closing the budget gap, and will have discussions in the coming weeks about potential strategies.
Cuts to Station 38 could increase fire risk and delay response times, said Dan Carson, a firefighter and paramedic who is a representative from the Sacramento Area Local 522 union for the Folsom Fire Department.
“That’s not how the system was designed,” Carson said, referring to the allocation of resources across Folsom’s six total fire stations.
The Facebook posting comes from a Sept. 2 operations bulletin, which appears to propose closing Station 38. Titled “station 38 closure,” the memo says an engine will be relocated from the station and does not list any plans for an ambulance to staff the station. It was signed by Assistant Chief of Operations Matthew McGee.
Then, over the weekend, the Folsom Firefighters Association posted about Station 38’s closure on the approximately 46,000-member Facebook group Folsom Chat.
City spokesperson Christine Brainerd said the Sept. 2 memo was “incorrect information” disseminated by fire personnel.
“Service modifications are being considered, the intent is to have fire station personnel staffed at all Folsom fire stations,” Brainerd’s statement on Monday said.
On Monday, Cusano issued a different department bulletin titled “apparatus reassignment plan” which outlined how one fire engine will be relocated away from Station 38, and a medical ambulance will be staffed by new recruits.
Monday’s memo sought to “provide clarity and eliminate any misunderstanding regarding” the operations bulletin titled “station 38 closure.” The “realignment” effective Oct. 1 attempts to reduce overtime costs as staff work to