Palo Alto To Study Merging Two Fire Stations
PALO ALTO (KCBS) - The city wants to change mandatory staffing levels and merge Station 2 and Station 5 to cut costs and improve efficiency.
Palo Alto City Manager Pam Antil said the idea for the station merger came after a five-month study revealed the way fire stations are staffed does not match the volume of calls for service.
KCBS' Mike Colgan Reports:
"We have a minimum staffing under our union agreement which requires the same number of people on duty throughout the city at the eight stations 24-7 regardless of the call volume," she said.
A centrally located station could respond more quickly to calls now routed to Station 2 and Station 5, she said.
The city cannot change staffing levels unless the firefighters union agrees. No one from the union was immediately available for comment.
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