Salinas firefighters says they need more staffing to handle record calls
For many reasons the number of calls Salinas Fire responds to is at an all-time high and continues to increase. Those long hours are taking a toll on firefighters. Battalion Chief of Salinas Fire Department, Doug Dirksen, said, “Our firefighters are working with less sleep, because most of us are up during the whole shift out running calls, dealing with the public.” Dirksen also said that while the number of response calls they receive continues to grow, staffing hasn’t grown to meet the demand. “Over the years, our call volume has steadily increased and we are running a lot of calls,” Dirksen said. From homeless encampment fires and emergency calls to a now year-round fire season. “Those folks that are actually on the fire lines typically are put on 24-hour shifts. So it becomes a challenge on all levels,” Dirksen said. And has firefighters working a large amount of overtime. Chief Dirksen said that a by-product of the increase in fires is an increase in injuries on the job. Dirksen said, “If we were to be able to more evenly spread out the labor, you'll have more firefighters able to share that workload and have less injuries.” This week, Mayor Kimbley Craig hopped onboard a truck for a ride-along. She said she saw firsthand how busy they are. Craig said, “It was an action-packed night. It caught me off guard, to be honest with you. They were slammed that night.” And that more funding is needed. “Certainly recognizing that we need to address the root cause of those 911 calls, but also understanding that we're a city and we're growing. And so with that means we need to provide more services,” Craig said. Chief Dirksen also said that in order to meet the current demand, they would have to build three new fire stations in the city and add 27 firefighters. |