By Haley Parsley
The Sacramento Bee
FOLSOM, Calif. — The Folsom Fire Department returned an engine to service Sunday after city budget cuts forced the department to pull the truck from service last October.
The engine operates from Station 39 at 2139 Ritchie St. at Empire Ranch Road on the eastern edge of Folsom, Battalion Chief Nick Lawlor said Tuesday. Its return after 11 months adds fire and emergency medical coverage in an area particularly vulnerable to wildfires and gives the department another crew to respond to major incidents across the city, he said.
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“Now, they are just one more company that can help out on multi-alarm fires,” said Lawlor. “When the system gets really big, we have more resources to draw from, to answer our calls when we’re in very busy times of the day.”
The department announced the engine’s return last month, after introducing a new staffing model that freed up the necessary funding.
Under the new model, the department has already hired 14 single-role paramedics and emergency medical technicians, Lawlor said. They will staff ambulances and respond to medical emergencies, allowing firefighters to focus on fires, rescues, natural gas investigations and other calls.
Fire Chief Jason Solak estimated at a City Council meeting last month that the change would save the department up to $210,800 this fiscal year.
“Our new single-role program gives us the flexibility and operational depth we need to stay resilient,” Solak said in a statement issued Saturday. “It allows us to recruit efficiently, manage personnel costs, and optimize our daily operations — all while keeping fiscal responsibility to our taxpayers at the forefront.”
Engine 39’s three-person crew includes a paramedic and can also staff a wildland fire engine, giving the department additional capacity to respond to wildfires near open and undeveloped land along the city’s eastern and southern flanks, Lawlor said.
The additional crew also strengthens Folsom’s ability to work with neighboring agencies, including the El Dorado Hills Fire Department and Cal Fire , on wildfires and other major incidents, Lawlor said.
The engine has not yet responded to any fires, said Lawlor. But it has helped with other community emergencies, including medical calls for service. Since Sunday, when the truck returned to operation, its crew has responded to an average of four calls every 24 hours.
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