By Rosalio Ahumada
The Sacramento Bee
SUTTER COUNTY, Calif. — Officials announced Wednesday that the Sutter County Fire Department will be temporarily closing two of its three fire stations on a rotating basis due to low firefighter staffing levels.
The rotating temporary closures every 48 hours will be at the Fire Department’s Oswald Station 8 at 1280 Barry Road in Yuba City and Sutter Station 6 at 2340 California St. in Sutter, and they will continue until staffing increases allow operations to resume safely.
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The department’s Live Oak Station 5, 2745 Fir St. in Live Oak, will remain open throughout the rotating closures.
The county’s Fire Department has four fire engineer jobs vacancies, and five additional firefighters are on leave. County officials said this leaves the department’s staffing at critically low levels.
“We recognize the importance of maintaining reliable emergency response coverage throughout Sutter County,” Sutter County Fire Chief Kyle Long said in a news release. “We have a plan in place to address current staffing challenges. The county is actively recruiting additional personnel and has expedited the interview and hiring process to bring staffing to a level necessary to operate all stations at a capacity that ensures the safety of personnel and the community.”
The first temporary closure began at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Oswald Station 8.
County officials said the temporary closures are “a last-resort staffing measure” necessary to ensure firefighters can work safely. They said the county will maintain emergency response coverage to rural residents through other available resources.
While one of the Sutter County fire stations is closed, the two other county fire stations will provide the primary response to calls for help. County officials said the Yuba City Fire Department and surrounding firefighting agencies will provide help when available.
The labor union representing the firefighters working in these Sutter County fire stations announced the first temporary closure Tuesday evening in a Facebook post. The firefighters union informed residents that these closures means emergency responses will be coming from surrounding stations and mutual aid agencies, “resulting in longer response times” for the community.
“Sutter County Firefighters Local 5032 remains committed to keeping our community informed when staffing impacts emergency services,” the firefighters union said. “When seconds matter, staffing matters.”
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