Fire departments across the Central Coast help each other during large fires because many of them have just a handful of full-time firefighters.
Typically, fire departments take up the largest portion of a city's budget, and each year must figure out how many full-time and part-time staffers the city can afford. Some departments are finding it tough to keep their part-timers on reserve.
"The Central Coast is not a cheap place to live, so these folks work multiple jobs while serving as a reserve firefighter with us," Five Cities Fire Authority Fire Chief Steve Lieberman said.
The chief explained that part-time firefighters make between $12 and $14 an hour when they're called on to work.
"I can't expect these folks to to be here whenever I need them to be because they're often working other side jobs that pay a higher hourly rate."