SACRAMENTO -
Sacramento City firefighters say it took longer to extinguish a house fire because the closest station was partially closed due to budget constraints. A fire last night in the tony Curtis Park neighborhood caused extensive damage to a two story home. A fire truck from station six in Oak Park a mile away was the first unit on the scene. Fire trucks are designed to help firefighters get into buildings and rescue people . But a fire engine at the station was not manned.
The house's owner says firefighters got there very fast. Yet his house sustained and estimated 400 thousand dollars in damage.
"The first unit that was on scene was an aerial truck that doesn't carry water," said battalion chief Jonathan Williams.
A battalion chief from the same station arrived moments later and said it took another three minutes for a fire engine to arrive from a more distant firehouse.
"Fire they say typically doubles in size every minute, so use your imagination," said Capt Jim Doucette.
He said firefighters did a good job preventing the fire from spreading. Eventually six engines arrived at the scene. But he said it is frustrating when they don't have the equipment or firefighters to do the job.
"Our guys did a terrific job of keeping that house from being a total loss. Still they were behind the 8 ball since they got here," said Doucette.
The owners of a house next door that had it's windows blown out because of the heat said they were only minutes away from having their home destroyed.
"It's extremely frustrating. I'm personally going to contact mayor Johnson to let him know that these brownouts can't continue like this," said neighbor John Matthews.
The brownouts save the city 1.6 million dollars annually, but firefighters say this is not the first time that they have caused a delay in responding to fires.
The so-called 'brownouts' have been in effect for over a year. Fire administrators chose to use brownouts instead of closing some of the city's 23 firehouses.
The house's owner says firefighters got there very fast. Yet his house sustained and estimated 400 thousand dollars in damage.
"The first unit that was on scene was an aerial truck that doesn't carry water," said battalion chief Jonathan Williams.
A battalion chief from the same station arrived moments later and said it took another three minutes for a fire engine to arrive from a more distant firehouse.
"Fire they say typically doubles in size every minute, so use your imagination," said Capt Jim Doucette.
He said firefighters did a good job preventing the fire from spreading. Eventually six engines arrived at the scene. But he said it is frustrating when they don't have the equipment or firefighters to do the job.
"Our guys did a terrific job of keeping that house from being a total loss. Still they were behind the 8 ball since they got here," said Doucette.
The owners of a house next door that had it's windows blown out because of the heat said they were only minutes away from having their home destroyed.
"It's extremely frustrating. I'm personally going to contact mayor Johnson to let him know that these brownouts can't continue like this," said neighbor John Matthews.
The brownouts save the city 1.6 million dollars annually, but firefighters say this is not the first time that they have caused a delay in responding to fires.
The so-called 'brownouts' have been in effect for over a year. Fire administrators chose to use brownouts instead of closing some of the city's 23 firehouses.
