Had the three-company Engine 14 remained dormant, the minimum staffing level would have fallen to 35. The two-man reduction is expected to last 11 months and bring the department in line with staffing levels last seen five years ago, Krakowski said.
“We were looking at a plan that was a little more painful and shorter versus one that is a little bit longer and less painful,” he said. “Basically, given our background and training, firefighters can make it work. Having that kind of mind set, we can keep chiseling away, but I understand there is always an impact. There are no free budget cuts.”
Fire Station 14, at 2305 W. Burbank Blvd., houses a single fire engine and maintains and repairs self-contained breathing apparatuses. The three nearest stations are in the 600 block of North Hollywood Way, 2700 block of Thornton Avenue and 1400 block of West Verdugo Avenue.
Under the current configuration, if a fire occurred near Station 14, what would have been a one-minute response time is now three minutes, according to department statistics.
Stations 11, 12 and 13 — identified as key systems — maintain four-person companies. Stations 14, 15 and 16 maintain three-person companies.
Reductions in staffing always result in a loss of efficiency, said Burbank Fire Capt. Lew Stone, president of Burbank Firefighters Local 778.
An oft-quoted study conducted on the Dallas Fire Department indicates that at the three-person level “there was little margin for error and any appreciable delay in arrival might place the control of the fire beyond their capability.”
“A smaller workforce doing the same as a larger workforce of the past will result in increased injuries to the back and knees,” a National Fire Academy report on the study concluded.
