A sampling of nine fire reports over the last year in outlying areas shows it takes an average of 36 minutes to assemble 15 firefighters to the scene.

The majority of the 24 fire stations in the county are staffed with just two firefighters on each shift, making it particularly difficult to respond adequately to emergencies in outlying areas such as Pine Lakes, Astor and Sorrento without jeopardizing the safety of firefighters and citizens, according to the local fire union.

But when the county’s Public Safety Deputy Director John Molenda presented his budget to county commissioners this week, he did not ask for a budget increase to address those issues. Instead, he presented a status quo budget at $23 million.

County officials, who long spoke of increasing manpower, believe the budget request is adequate at this time because plans are still being ironed out to implement a timeline for funding the fire department’s needs.

Those officials say there are missing pieces preventing the completion of that timeline such as: the results of a study to evaluate whether EMS should partner with Lake County Fire Rescue to provide medical transport services in certain geographic areas to improve response times; and whether the county will receive a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant to hire 15 firefighters.

The department  keeps four trucks in service at any one time.

The City of Chico spent $645,000 for each truck, which are an improvement from the previous ones, the oldest of which is 19 years old. 

"We believe that this newer equipment will provide the citizens with a better level of service," said Mike Watner, Chico Fire Department Captain. "The new ones have more storage so we can handle more equipment and allows us to be more diversified on the type of calls we can handle as a single company."

The older trucks will be taken out of circulation and be used for training purposes.

The Town Council approved a development agreement Monday with East West Partners and rezoned an acre of town-owned land at the corner of Hamilton and Prestwick roads for the Station at East 54. The council also authorized staff to finalize a business agreement with the developer.

The business agreement includes provisions that will allow the town to keep the title to both the fire station and the land under it.

Business agreement talks could wrap up by late July, interim Fire Chief Matt Sullivan said. Construction could start quickly, since the developer wants to move in tenants by 2018. The fire station would be relocated temporarily to a vacant UNC fraternity house on Finley Golf Course Road.

“If it comes to the point where we can’t make this deal work, (or) it comes to the point that the money just doesn’t work out, then we’ll not do it,” Sullivan said.

“I’m committed first of all as a steward of this community’s safety – that’s my primary job. I’m also committed as a steward of our resources and trust,” he said. “I understand it’s a huge project, so before we execute it, we’ll make sure it’s in your best interests.”

Those interests range from providing the town with a combined fire and EMS station at a lower cost, he said, to giving employees a better work environment and generating roughly $40,000 a year in addditional tax revenues.

The Hamilton Road station – Fire Station No. 2 – was built in the 1950s and is the first of three fire stations to be replaced. The others are on Elliott Road and Weaver Dairy Road.