Roseville, Calif. – With rising temperatures and fire season upon us, city leaders in Roseville have proposed drastic staffing cuts to the Roseville Fire Department that will increase response times and diminish public safety in our community. These cuts are proposed despite continued growth in population and increasing home and property values throughout Roseville.
“Despite our best efforts to educate city management about the devastating effects of firefighter staffing cuts on public safety in our community, we’ve learned that they have created a short-sighted proposal to reduce the staffing on our fire trucks,” said George Titus, retired Fire Captain. “If they move forward with this irresponsible proposal, not only are firefighters’ lives put at risk, but there’s overwhelming evidence that this reduces our ability to most effectively fight fires and respond to emergencies in our community.”
The growth Roseville is experiencing, both in population and revenue, comes with increased demands on public safety in order to protect the lives and property of the people who live here. Despite the needs of our community, the city has not filled all of the firefighter vacancies, and the Roseville fire service is extremely impacted as a result with rank-and-file firefighters working upwards of 100 hours per week.
“In addition, our city leaders promised that a Citizens Advisory Commission would be put in place to review evidence before any decisions were made about cuts to public safety. They will need to explain to our community why they’ve decided against listening to input from citizens on the important matter of firefighter truck staffing,” Titus added.
Fast facts Roseville Fire Department:
* Emergency call volume has grown 60% in the past 5 years.
* 65% of calls require advanced life support services and medical aid.
* 16,000 annual calls include fire suppression, HAZMAT, vehicle extrication, citizen assists, electrical lines down, and more.
City management has been asked to review a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) study showing the negative impact on public safety of reducing truck staffing. This information could also be considered by the Citizens Advisory Commission, if it were in place.
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Among the findings:
* 4-person crews complete on-the-scene rescues approximately 5.1 minutes faster than a 3-person crew.
* 4-person crews are able to complete tasks on a residential structure fire 25% faster than 3-person crews.
