Oakland spares firehouses, but it will be months before closed stations reopen

Oakland City Council voted Tuesday to reopen three fire stations that were temporarily closed to save money amid a $130 million budget shortfall. 

The resolution passed unanimously, signaling a push to restore critical fire and medical services to impacted neighborhoods.

“There is nothing more vital to the voices of Oakland residents than preserving essential, public safety resources, which absolutely includes each and every single one of our fire stations,” aid Councilmember Janani Ramachandran.

The vote comes days after the city administrator’s office announced that the closure of four additional stations would not be necessary this fiscal year.

Fire stations 25 and 28 in East Oakland were closed in January, based on an analysis of factors such as fire risk and service calls. Station 10 has been closed since 2022 for renovations and not reopened because of the budget shortfall. All three stations are set to reopen before the end of the fiscal year, which is June 30. Council members cited fire prevention, disaster response, and emergency medical services as key reasons for reopening the stations.

Residents had cited the same reasons in urging the council to keep the stations open. During public comments, several questioned why stations were closing when the threat of fire is increasing.

The city had considered shutting down additional stations to reduce the budget deficit. However, Bradley Johnson, the city’s budget administrator, told the Finance and Management Committee last week that the projected deficit had dropped from $130 million to $89 million due to cost-saving measures. Then the city administrator’s office announced that closing additional stations was no longer necessary.

“Closing four additional firehouses would have been devastating not just for the department and the morale of our members, but for the health and safety of residents and businesses across Oakland,” said Fire Department spokesperson Michael Hunt.

Funding for the stations will come from recent revenue generated through events at the Oakland Arena and Coliseum, as well as savings from a reduction in liability cases, Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan said during Tuesday’s meeting.

The City Council emphasised the importance of preventing a catastrophic fire emergency like the Eaton and Palisades fires in Los Angeles that resulted in 29 deaths and 38,000 acres burned.

“We didn’t need Los Angeles to burn to the ground to know that California’s fire season is year-round,” said Councilmember Zac Unger, an Oakland firefighter. “And we didn’t need the Keller Fire in East Oakland to know that Oakland is as vulnerable as any other place in the country.”

The Keller Fire, which broke out on Oct. 18 near Keller Avenue and Campus Drive in the Oakland Hills, forced a the two-day evacuation of 500 residents. The fire burned 15 acres, destroyed two homes, and involved 200 firefighters. Crews from stations 25 and 28 were among the first to arrive.

Bryan Moore was among the residents evacuated. He said the city must prioritize residents’ health and safety when making decisions about emergency services.

“We need as many firemen and women as possible out there to make sure everybody in our community stays safe and sound,” he said.

About 33 years before the Keller Fire, the deadly Oakland Hills firestorm — also known as the Tunnel Fire — burned 1,520 acres, destroyed 3,469 homes and 2,000 vehicles, and killed 25 people in October 1991. More than 1,500 firefighters and 450 engines from across northern California responded. The disaster cost an estimated $3.9 billion in damages.

Longer response times

Since the closure of fire stations 25 and 28, Oaklanders in affected neighborhoods have been waiting up to three times longer than usual for a fire engine to arrive, said Seth Oyler, president of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 55. He added that the National Fire Protection Association has a response time standard of within four minutes, 90% of the time. Before stations 25 and 28 closed, the Oakland Fire Department met this guideline, but since then, it has been unable to do so, he said.

The department receives about 80,000 calls a year, according to Hunt. Of these, about 75% are related to emergency medical services, and 25% are fire-related.

Longer response times are particularly serious during medical emergencies, Oyler said. For example, if someone is having a stroke, the time it takes for paramedics to arrive can determine whether irreversible brain damage occurs.

No firefighters have lost their jobs while stations 10, 25 and 28 have been closed. The department remains short-staffed, as a number of employees are on long-term leave or disability due to injury or conditions such as PTSD. Firefighters previously stationed at houses now closed have been reassigned to other locations to fill vacancies. 

Oyler explained that fire station placement is strategic — mapped out to ensure fire engines can reach any location in their radius within four minutes. When stations close, that response strategy is disrupted, forcing crews from other stations to cover additional areas. This also increases firefighters’ workloads.

Though the stations will reopen, there is no plan to prevent future closures amid persistent budget issues.

“How do we end up not closing fire stations again after plugging this hole for this fiscal year?” asked Councilmember Carroll Fife at the Tuesday meeting.

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Oakland Hills neighbors alerted each other through group chats, used hoses to put out fires as area burned