Hollister
– Hollister Fire Chief Fred Cheshire is used to learning on the
job quickly.
Hollister – Hollister Fire Chief Fred Cheshire is used to learning on the job quickly.
The 45-year-old began his career with the Hollister Fire Department just six weeks before the Loma Prieta earthquake rocked the city in 1989. That experience should help him as city’s interim fire chief. After being sworn in by the City Council on Monday, Chesire inherited an understaffed and underfunded department.
Cheshire, a Hollister native, said he is up for the challenge.
“I’m where I want to be, doing what I want to do,” he said.
Cheshire admits that he has only half the experience that former fire chief Bill Garringer does and is relatively inexperienced with handling budgets.
The fire department has already made sacrifices to help the city reduce its budget more than $300,000. Garringer took an early retirement to save a full-time position, and the new interim chief will be collecting roughly the same salary he did as a captain. As fire chief, Garringer earned $125,000 per year. Cheshire will earn $102,000, just a $2,000 pay raise from his captain position.
Also, the department is operating without an engine company for a third of the time. That engine company is responsible for rescuing passengers trapped in vehicles and supporting the city’s other fire engines on structure fires.
“Everything’s been trimmed back,” Cheshire said. “I just hope it doesn’t jeopardize the safety of the guys or the well being of the community.”
The loss of the engine company means a delayed response of up to 30 minutes a third of the time for passenger rescues. With budget cuts already decided, Cheshire has little choice.
“It’s something that people are just going to have to wait for,” he said.
And with a staff stretched thin, Cheshire may have to send the department to one emergency over another. If faced with an unoccupied home fire versus a vehicle rescue, Cheshire said he will choose to respond to the crash to potentially save a life.
But Cheshire is determined the staffing won’t affect the quality of the department’s work.
Hollister Mayor Pike believes Cheshire’s leadership skills will go far to motivate the city’s firefighters. Pike said it will be a learning experience for Cheshire.
“He’s short-staffed,” Pike said. “He’s going to have to make sure he’s getting the maximum, which they do. Those guys work their tails off.”
As for future reductions of service or revenue concerns, the mayor will begin working closely with Cheshire as not only a public official, but also as a captain with the Saratoga Fire Department.
“We’re just going to have to find ways to get revenue in here,” he said.
Chesire will serve as chief on an interim basis in the meantime. If the city’s budget increases, it will look to hire a new fire chief as early as November, Pike said. Cheshire would then have to apply for the position alongside other applicants, but would be considered for the position.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or
mv*********@fr***********.com
.
