By Sandy Louey
The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

COSUMNES, Calif. — Despite a packed meeting Tuesday night, Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Chief Steve Foster didn't back away from his decision to cut the number of battalion chiefs in half as a cost-saving measure.

A crowd of more than 150 people, many of them firefighters, packed the meeting in hopes the district board would reconsider the action.

District officials have said Foster had the right to make the decision as a manager.
"This decision has already been made," Foster said.

Six battalion chiefs now supervise and manage fire stations and coordinate crews at fire scenes throughout the district.

Elk Grove and Galt each have a battalion chief on the three shifts. The Galt battalion chiefs cover two stations while Elk Grove chiefs are responsible for six stations.

Under Foster's plan, there would be one battalion chief on each shift who would be responsible for the entire district. Eliminating three battalion chief positions would save $773,000 a year.

The plan, which will take effect this spring, was made to improve efficiency and reduce costs in light of the economic downturn, Foster said.

"Neither public safety nor firefighter safety is jeopardized," he said.

Galt city officials, the Galt fire division advisory committee and the Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 all oppose Foster's decision.

All 30 speakers Tuesday night spoke against the elimination of the battalion chiefs, saying it will affect the safety of firefighters and the public.

"These are much-needed eyes to watch our backs," said Brian Klein, a firefighter at Station 74.

The loss of the battalion chiefs could result in delayed responses since captains may have to step in as the incident commander instead of fighting the blaze, opponents said. That has an effect on the firefighters on the fire lines, said Don Braziel, an Elk Grove resident and a retired Sacramento Fire Department firefighter.

None of the eliminated chiefs would be laid off since there are three vacant positions in the department.

But there is a ripple effect when the chiefs are demoted. Not only do they lose rank and pay, but there is a domino effect on the captain, engineer and firefighter ranks, said Dan Quiggle, district director for Local 522.

Copyright 2008 Sacramento Bee