PRATHER (KMJ) — Residents of Fresno County’s foothills now have a dedicated full-time fire crew at Hurley Forest Fire Station, replacing the previous paid call firefighters.
The announcement on Tuesday promised quicker response times and greater protection for locals. It comes following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Fresno County Fire Protection District and the County of Fresno.
“Our resources are always limited and we recognize that right now is the time to make sure that the residents in the mountain areas, as well as in the foothills, are fully protected,” explained Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig.
Two engines have been allocated to the station: one Fresno County Fire truck with two crew members and one Cal Fire truck with four crew members. The change is expected to reduce the cost of local fire insurance, and provide assistance to other volunteer fire departments in the area too.
“Take a look at all the fires that have happened in the mountain areas,” added Magsig. “Here in Fresno County we’re impacted just as much by the tree die off. We’ve got over 21 million dead trees that are in the Sierra right here in Fresno County.
“So we need to take more and more steps to be proactive.”
Hear the report from KMJ’s Dominic McAndrew as it aired:
