Letter to the Editor: Keep Station 4 Open

The Rudgear Meadows Home Owners Association wrote to the Board of Supervisors to try to prevent the Hawthorne fire station 4 that supports our Rudgear Meadows Home Owners (Association) property from being closed permanently with the recent defeat of Measure Q.   

Since the closure plan is not yet finalized and will not be published until the Board of Supervisors agenda is posted on November 29th, I/we asked the Board to make any closure  decision at a later date when the community can be better represented and informed.  The time to prepare an appropriate response is too short at this point, especially during the Thanksgiving season.  If closed, it could take the fire department 30 minutes to get to this area from any other station, a fact, which could result easily in a death that could have been prevented/predicted or far more damage to a housing development in case of fire.

Station 4 supports a large number of residents, two public schools, and a number of swim clubs.  If Station 4 is closed the closest fire station to our area will be in downtown Walnut Creek , Station 1.  In the past year that station has been reduced from a six-person, two fire truck station, to a three-person one fire truck station.  It is unreasonable to expect Station 1 could handle the number of residents and businesses it would be responsible for within a reasonable response time. 

In the event Station 1 is out on a call, which is likely in a community emergency, the next closest fire station would be the one by Rossmoor, Station 3—which mainly supports Rossmoor residents.  The other stations: Station 7 out by Northgate and a station in the San Ramon Fire District.

Our household property tax bill shows we currently pay over $800.00 per year for fire safety.  We view this dollar amount as an insurance policy—you hope you never need to use it but when you do Station 4 will be there to serve us in a swift and responsive manner.  We believe it is unreasonable to expect a fire crew from downtown Walnut Creek to respond to our area in a swift and responsive manner, presuming they are available.  If they are responding to another fire or another medical emergency involving cardiac failure would it be possible for them to get to the patient in our area in time?

Rose Chait
President
Rudgear Meadows Homeowners Association