4 fire stations to be closed in Contra Costa County

MARTINEZ, Calif. (KGO) -- The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 Tuesday to close four fire stations.

The fire stations that will be shut are No. 16 in Lafayette, No. 12 in Martinez, No. 4 in Walnut Creek and No. 11 in Clayton. The closures will take effect January 15.

County supervisors had debated the closure of those stations all afternoon. The fire district says closing the stations is the best way to deal with the fiscal crisis caused by a steep decline in property tax revenue, which has coincided with an increase in employee pension payouts.

The cuts come after voters rejected Measure Q, a parcel tax for fire services on the November ballot.

Residents living near the four firehouses are worried that their homes could be at risk as a result of the stations being shut down.

Much of the discussion over the closures has centered on how to minimize the impact of the closures and keep response times within an acceptable range. Part of the difficulty with that is there are different problems and solutions when talking about fire response versus medical response.

No layoffs were included in the closure proposal.

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contra costa county, fire, walnut creek, martinez, east bay news, heather ishimaru

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