The Great Recession has widened the gap between Contra Costa's rich and poor fire agencies, leaving several areas with fewer stations and slower emergency response times and the entire county less equipped to handle a disaster as an already destructive fire season grinds on.
While most fire agencies across the county are getting their fiscal houses in order after years of belt-tightening, the East Contra Costa and Rodeo-Hercules fire districts face continuing financial hardship, exacerbated by low tax rates and property valuations that are still below pre-recession levels.
A county board is commissioning a study focused on finding solutions for the districts, whose average response times last year were nearly two minutes slower than before the recession. Staffing is especially low in East Contra Costa, which has had to close five of the eight fire stations it operated in 2008. With only 10 sworn firefighters per shift covering a parched 249 square miles, including Brentwood, Oakley and Discovery Bay, the district must call for help from other fire departments, sometimes from as far away as Tracy, simply to put out a fire.