Reno Fire Station 7 was browned out in 2010, after the recession forced budget cuts. The firehouse on Skyline Blvd. was officially re-opened Monday, housing a two-man medical response unit. It will respond to every emergency in its district, except fires.
"We are now going to be responding to all medical calls in the area," Dave Cochran, Reno Fire Chief said. "It's going to shorten our response times, increase the service delivery."
Firefighters say 75-80 percent of their calls are for medical emergencies. The long-term goal is to eventually fully staff the fire station with a four-man engine crew.
"We've still got some work to do to get the full staffing up here, so we can have a fire engine, but in the meantime we've made incredible strides forward and it's a great benefit to the community," Cochran said.
The move was made possible after the city council approved the hiring of 32 firefighters. The most recent groups of RFD recruits graduated in July. Despite the new hires, the fire department has not grown much. Cochran says an average of one firefighter leaves the department, each month, so many of the new hires are replacements. RFD has 220 firefighters but Cochran says he would like to have at least 260. He says the most likely way to make that happen is to hire 24 firefighters, each year, which would be a net gain of 12.