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California Fire Volunteer
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Jefferson Public Radio | By Roman Battaglia
The volunteer fire department in Yreka, California is in desperate need of upgrades. The city is considering a 1% sales tax to put on the November ballot that could help alleviate staffing and facility issues.
Walking inside the fire hall in Yreka, there are so many interesting things to see. Fire Chief Jerry Lemos shows off the shiny white, red and chrome trucks, the fire hoses hanging up to dry and the firepole, which he says are still installed in new stations today.
“When you first do it, it’s a little unnerving. But you get used to it,” says Lemos, looking down the pole from the second floor to the ground below.
But after a few minutes looking at the impressive equipment, the rest of the station starts to reveal itself. Pieces of plaster have fallen off the ceiling and exposed the wood underneath, some of the walls are black from engine exhaust and a number of fire trucks just barely fit inside the small garage.
“This is our ladder, it’s a 75-foot stick or quint, as they’re called in the business,” Lemos points to the largest truck in the station, with a retractable ladder on top. “It doesn’t have a platform on the front. And we couldn’t because the station is too small, the roof’s too small. We couldn’t fit it in here.”
Lemos says having a platform on ladder trucks is preferred for safety. The trucks firefighters use these days are more than twice as big as when this part of the station was built over 90 years ago. The other half of the station was built in 60s, but it’s still too small for some modern engines.
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