The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted to dissolve the fiscally challenged South County Fire District, ending its contract with Cal Fire. This decision affects approximately 289 square miles of coverage, potentially displacing up to 30 firefighters and necessitating new construction for in-house services. Union representatives express concern, arguing that the political motivations behind this decision threaten their members' jobs and may compromise emergency response effectiveness, as Cal Fire may prioritize other areas during major incidents, jeopardizing local safety.
"We're not happy. Our guys are bracing to be displaced or move far away from their current work locations over something that we felt the board did for political reasons and political reasons only," Tim Edwards, president of the union representing Cal Fire's South County firefighters, told San José Spotlight.
"Now that we have no contract to respond to medical, traffic collisions in that area, those engines will be the first to go to these big fires because their first priority will be the state mission," Edwards said.
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