By Mike Martinez
Inside Bay Area
TRACY, Calif. — A 49-page report recommends the South County Fire Authority expand its services with three new fire stations around Tracy and relocate an existing station closer to downtown.
The report, completed by Kirchoff and Associates, also recommends the fire district -- which includes the city of Tracy, rural Tracy and Mountain House -- plan on adding two more stations in the Tracy Hills area once the project begins to build out. The company two years ago provided the city a needs assessment survey of the Tracy Fire Department.
The recommendations were based on a standards of coverage survey, which began compiling data in February 2005 and was presented to the authority in October. The report revealed that firefighters arrive at the scene of an emergency call within five minutes on nearly three of every four calls.
The West Valley Mall, and other development around the Interstate 205 Corridor, are projected to be outside the five-minute response window, along with dozens of buildings between Central Avenue and MacArthur Drive in the downtown area, including the new City Hall.
Tracy fire Chief Chris Bosch said the findings in the standards of coverage survey, which was released in October, identified “some gaps” and pointed to some issues the department needed to work on.
“It was interesting to see what Kirchoff recommended and suggested,” Bosch said. “We’re going to take a look at them, look at our needs, and try to develop some strategy.”
The city has operated only three fire stations for the past two decades, while the population has grown by more than 60 percent and the number of emergency calls within city limits has jumped nearly 70 percent since 1999 alone.
The report recommended new fire stations be built in the area of the Interstate 205 corridor, which includes the West Valley Mall; in the vicinity of the intersection of Lammers and Schulte Road; and around the Edgewood neighborhood which is near the proposed Ellis Project in southwest Tracy.
All would require the purchase of land, new equipment and the hiring of additional personnel to fully staff each engine with three firefighters per shift.
The report singled out the West Valley Mall as an area of particular concern, because of the amount of development, increased levels of traffic and the limited number of access points.
“The Department’s inability to meet existing response time goals in this area creates a significant concern for the Fire Department and may create future economic challenges for the City,” the report said.
In May 2005, the city’s only downtown fire station was relocated to 11th Street, leaving the area, which includes the refurbished Grand Theatre, the recently completed Tracy City Hall, and the Tracy Fire Administration Building, vulnerable, the report said.
The report recommended moving Station 92, which currently sits on the corner of 7th Street and Grant Line Road in Banta, closer to the downtown area.
“Relocating Station 92 and its personnel on the east-side of Downtown will enhance the Fire Department’s ability to meet its response time objectives in (the) Downtown/Central City area and will help encourage new and existing business to invest in the area,” the report said.
Bosch was aware of the city’s fiscal outlook -- tax revenues are down and the city had to dip into its Economic Uncertainty Fund to make up a shortfall in the last budget -- but he hoped they could find “creative ways” to address the issues in the report.
“We’re going to look at the report, take our time analyzing the findings provided, and put together a work team to try and figure out a plan to move ahead,” Bosch said. “We want to make sure we’re cautious and careful moving forward.”
In 1999, the Tracy City Council established a goal of reaching an emergency caller within five minutes 95 percent of the time emergency crews are summoned for the Tracy Fire Department.
Kirchoff’s report also supports changing response times to reach an emergency caller within 6.5 minutes 90 percent of the time in the city and within 10 minutes in the district.
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