Three of those 15 full-time Manteca firefighters rushing to battle a house fire in north Manteca Wednesday had been given layoff notices just hours before.  It didn’t make a difference to them knowing they had a job to do and they did it while off duty and responding from home.

The first they knew of the six layoffs, they said, was when Fire Chief Kirk Waters came back to the station from city hall with discharge packages in hand earlier in the morning.  First on the scene was a laid off firefighter in Truck 24.  The second – also laid off – was the first on the roof and the fire guy manning the second line had also gotten his notice that morning.

In the Wednesday fire off-duty personnel who were called back answered two calls using backup engines.  One fire engine at the Canterbury fire scene was called away from the house fire for another emergency call.

Two firefighters were injured during the Wednesday afternoon house fire.   Franco Torrice fell through the charred ceiling from the attic hurting his back and Tom Solorzano fell outside the garage and injured his shoulder.  Two of the firefighters pictured on the lawn changing oxygen tanks in Thursday’s paper were among the layoffs.

In talking to firefighter Traig Smith, representing the Manteca Firefighters’ Association, it was obvious the guys are united in working toward the betterment of the community and the department no matter what the conditions.

“We just want the citizens to know the level of service will be diminished,” he said.

At its peak between 2006 and 2008, the fire service had a 40-man strong department. Today, with the new cuts, there are 30 working 48 hour shifts – a 25 percent drop in manpower.  Each station now has one backup engine and there is one state owned Office of Emergency Services rig that can also be put into service in emergency situations.  It is located at the Powers Avenue station.

Wednesday’s fire was an eye opener for citizens living near Lathrop and Union roads who first questioned the response time of firemen.  Engine 243 was first on the scene from the Louise Avenue station, but firemen by policy had to wait for backup before they could enter the residence.  The other engines were coming from across town.  The Lathrop-Manteca engine responded but with only two firefighters on board.

Smith said he is not sure how staffing will be distributed noting that the department is going back to 1988 levels of service.  He added that when the contract was consummated there were 13 firemen on duty per shift.  Now with retirements and layoffs, the force is dropping to just 10 per shift.

That’s just the way it is in today’s economy and the lagging tax receipts.  Mantecans buying locally rather than going out of town can realize part of their sales tax charged in our city will find its way back to emergency services in Manteca through Measure M.

The three existing fire stations are the same number as Manteca enjoyed in 1984: Powers Avenue, Union Road and Louise Avenue.  Two proposed new stations to the north and to the south have been planned but the economy keeps them on the drawing boards. 

The fire department reorganized two years ago and was able to cut about $1.6 million annually in its budget.  Battalion chiefs were put in place of division chiefs and the fire marshal position became that of a civilian staffer.  One of two secretaries has also been eliminated in the present cuts having been assigned to fire prevention.

Wednesday was a dark day among firefighters, probably the worst since Captain Tom Moore lost his life in a training accident in Modesto years ago.