San Juan Bautista
– The Mission City’s all-volunteer fire department has seen a
steady decline in staff in the past two years, a trend that worries
city residents and firefighters alike.
San Juan Bautista – The Mission City’s all-volunteer fire department has seen a steady decline in staff in the past two years, a trend that worries city residents and firefighters alike.
Unlike its Hollister and San Benito County counterparts, the San Juan Bautista Fire Department relies solely on the dedication of volunteer firefighters. Two years ago the city had a pool of 26 firefighters. However, due to a variety of factors, that number has dwindled to 14, SJB Fire Capt. Chris Finstad said.
“We’ve kind of hit a dry spell as far as recruitment,” he said.
The department often replenishes its ranks with young residents who want to receive the training to become firefighters or give back to their community, Finstad said. San Juan recently lost several young volunteers to college and three more to the military.
Since 1994, when Finstad joined the department, more San Juan Bautista residents have become commuters, he said.
“In San Juan, it’s kind of become a bedroom community,” Finstad said. “People don’t get as involved. Even for me it’s a bedroom community.”
Volunteer firefighters also have regular work or school during the day, making it difficult for the department to respond to calls, Finstad said.
He said the department does not have enough firefighters available during the day.
“To be honest we’d be lucky to have three (firefighters),” Finstad said.
Finstad said only three San Juan Bautista firefighters were available to respond to a Saturday blaze on Mission Vineyard Road. After the same trailer caught fire for a second time later in the day, only one firefighter responded, Finstad said.
The daytime staffing shortage, coupled with the distance from the San Benito County Fire Department on Fairview Road in Hollister, can delay response times, Finstad said.
San Benito County Supervisor Anthony Botelho, who reported the second fire on Mission Vineyard Road, said it took the department about 30 minutes to respond.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Curt Itson, who oversees the county’s fire service, said San Juan’s problem is not too different from other small communities throughout the country. Itson said the dedication and certification required to be a volunteer firefighter can limit the numbers of all-volunteer staffs.
Botelho, a San Juan Bautista resident who at one time was a volunteer firefighter for the city, said he is not surprised the department is facing difficulties.
“People are busy with their lives, making a living, and busy with their families when they’re not working,” he said.
Botelho said combining the San Juan Bautista Fire Department with the county’s fire department would cut costs and create a greater pool of volunteers.
“I think ultimately county fire and possibly San Juan fire should be one agency,” Botelho said.
However, some believe it’s not as simple as a reconfiguration of departments.
Jan McClintock, the San Juan Bautista city manager, said the city is renegotiating the $12 per person reimbursement the department receives from San Benito County to respond to fires outside of city limits. McClintock said the reimbursement is not high enough and limits the attractiveness of the department to potential volunteers.
“When one out of every 10 calls is in the community and nine are outside the community, that gets a little old,” McClintock said.
Botelho said each fire department in the county has a responsibility to mutual aid. Botelho said the San Benito County Fire Department responded to a blaze within San Juan Bautista city limits on Saturday.
For now, the San Juan Bautista Fire Department will attempt to use its network of friends and family to find willing volunteers, Finstad said. Recruiters plan to go door-to-door in effort to recruit San Juan residents.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or [email protected].
