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Fire
Protection District
For
emergencies dial 911 on your telephone.
Fig
Garden Fire Protection District Board Members
Carla Lombardi
James Reid: 222-0839 or jreid@sbcglobal.net
Vernie Rodgers: Unavailable
Business Line: 621-4199
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Messages from the Fire Protection District – November 2010
The District fire station houses a 2003 Smeal fire engine. The Smeal is equipped with a 1500 gallon per minute Hale pump and a 720 gallon water tank.
The apparatus bay door has been rewired to include an emergency generator used during power outages to the area. The door is very heavy and it takes an unacceptable length of time to open manually. In order to maintain response time objectives, the door can now be opened by use of the generator.
The station living quarters continue to undergo remodeling and renovation work. A washer / dryer has been installed in the exercise area behind the apparatus bay allowing the firefighters the ability to launder their day uniforms, bed linens, and towels on site. Bunker gear is sent to fire station 11 at Fresno and Wrenwood for laundering/extraction. The bunker gear storage area will be outfitted with Gear Grid storage systems
The exercise area has received a rubberized sports floor to better accommodate the exercise machines and free weights. The Captain’s bathroom has been expanded to make room for a new shower, lav, and sink with vanity.
The last round of renovations included handicap accessibility to the station office and meeting room. The plans for the remodel work were contracted through Dale Rutherford, A.I.A. Architecture & Planning.
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Fire
Protection History
The Fig Garden Fire Protection District was formed in
1942 to provide needed structural fire protection to an almost
fully developed residential area comprised primarily of the
Forkner Tract. The District, approximately one square mile
in size, is bounded, generally, by Shaw Avenue on the north,
Maroa on the east, the Herndon Canal on the south, and Palm
Avenue on the west. A three-member Board of Directors governs
the District. The current directors are John Slater, James
Reid and Vernie Rodgers.
During
1942, a fire station was built at its present location
of 4537 N. Wishon. That station consisted of one room living
quarters and a garage with a gravel floor and driveway.
In the beginning the District was completely staffed by
volunteers.
In
the early 1950's the district hired a full time professional
staff and relied decreasingly on volunteers. By 1956, the
district had evolved to a current two-crew operation.
Along the way, improvements were made to the station, often
by the crews who worked there. A larger garage was built
in front of the original garage (now the hose room), separate
barracks for A and B shifts were built on either side of
the garage, and a chief's residence was built on the southeastern
portion of the property.
In
1970's, the District was impacted by the passage of Proposition
13, which limited the amount of property tax revenue that
the District received. In order to survive, the District
explored ways to cut operating expenses. In 1978 the District
entered into a contract with Mid-Valley Fire Protection
District (Later to become known as Fresno County Fire Protection
District) which already had an agreement with the State
of California Department of Forestry for fire protection.
This brought State firefighters into Fig Garden Fire District
and the station became part of Fresno County 's Battalion
17. The current Battalion Chief in charge of day-to-day
operations in Battalion 17 is Chief Jim Stringfield.
Over
the years
more changes were made to the station. The Chief's residence
was converted into a conference/training room and office
for the Battalion Chief. The north barracks was remodeled
and became the living quarters for both shifts. The south
barracks was converted into a station office, exercise
room and an office for the Sheriff's deputy assigned to
the Fig Garden beat.
On January 1, 2006, the Fig Garden Fire Protection District
contracted with the City of Fresno for the delivery of fire
protection services. The 30 year agreement will provide for
the suppression and prevention of fires, emergency medical
services, rescue and extrication, hazardous materials response,
enforcement of fire codes and arson investigation, and reporting
of all fire information under the California Fire Incident
Reporting System.
The fire station number changed from Fresno County station #80 to Fresno City station #20. Station 20 houses three firefighters (1 Captain, 1 Engineer, 1 Firefighter) and 1 Fire Investigator 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on a three platoon system. The City of Fresno does not employ Paid Call or Volunteer firefighters.
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