In an effort to keep Sunrise Fire Station open, Councilman Craig
Gartman is asking the fire union to decrease the number of
firefighters required to staff each engine.
In an effort to keep Sunrise Fire Station open, Councilman Craig Gartman is asking the fire union to decrease the number of firefighters required to staff each engine.
Gartman proposed opening negotiations with the Fire Fighters Local 2805 to lower staffing requirements at the city’s other two stations – Chestnut and Las Animas – on days when there are not enough firefighters to staff Sunrise. He said came up with the idea while reading a series of e-mails about the matter on Friday.
“I think this would be an interesting compromise that kind of has everyone winning,” Gartman said.
The Gilroy Fire Department won a binding arbitration settlement against the city several years ago that required four firefighters per engine at all times at its Las Animas and Chestnut stations. Jim Buessing, secretary and treasurer of Local 2805, said the four-person-per-engine requirement adheres to a standard agreed upon by the National Fire Protection Association. Gilroy’s fire department lacks some of the resources of larger fire departments in the area that allow three firefighters per engine, he said.
Gilroy is one of only two cities in Santa Clara County that requires four firefighters per engine.
Starting this month, the city began closing the Sunrise Fire Station in northwest Gilroy on “brownout” days when the city did not have enough firefighters on duty to staff the Las Animas and Chestnut stations. Staffing shortages have resulted from layoffs and furlough days that the city approved late last year while shoring up a multi-million dollar budget deficit.
City officials say the brownouts have been implemented in accordance with an agreement with Local 2805 earlier this year, while union members say they merely acknowledged the city’s decision to implement brownouts.
While Buessing would not comment on any proposal unless the union was approached by city officials directly, he said the union is always willing to engage in talks.
“If the city wants to come to talk to us, we’re always open to meeting with the city,” he said.
Several council members have said this past week that they have received lots of feedback regarding the fire station, particularly after union members began distributing fliers stating the Sunrise station was closing.
“I’ve gotten a number of people who called me up in beginning of the week that were scared to death,” Gartman said.
Although Gartman said he thinks reopening negotiations with the union could lead to a compromise that could keep the Sunrise station permanently open, he was not certain how the council would react to the idea.
“I’m not sure whether they will want to venture down that road,” he said.
