LODI, CA – Tuesday was a “brownout” day for the Lodi Fire Department. That meant because of budget issues, staffing wasn’t at 19 or even 16 firefighters. It was at 13. “It’s safe to say we’ve had fewer people that we’ve liked, that’s true,” said interim Fire Chief Kevin Donnelly. Unfortunately on Tuesday, a residential fire ruined a home in southeast Lodi. Because of the brownout, Lodi had to rely on mutual aid from surrounding San Joaquin County fire agencies.”Every station is being staffed and there is a fire company in the neighborhood. But when we get on scene it’ll take us longer to get all the jobs done. There could be more damage caused out of that,” said Donnelly. Tuesday’s fire was started by children playing with a lighter. Two Lodi firefighters received minor injuries during that blaze. Because staffing is impacted in this budget crisis, Donnelly suggested Lodi residents do what they can to help prevent fires in the first place. “Look for fire sources around the house, do a home inspection and make sure smoke detectors are working. Make sure they have a family drill. If the family is out of the house when we get there, that changes a lot,” said Donnelly.
Story by: News10/KXTV
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Now here is a Fire Chief that knows how to express his concerns about the staffing reductions that we are all facing. I think that he did a good job of expressing his concerns, and how their cutbacks affected their response and duties.
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