As ailing Salida fire district seeks contract with Modesto, interim chief is named
The Salida Fire Protection District is in negotiations for a possible agreement with the Modesto Fire Department.
The district has two board members on a committee working on a potential agreement.
District board member Mark Stone shared some details Tuesday at the Salida Municipal Advisory Council meeting.
Stone told the advisory council the five-year agreement would improve firefighting response within the district boundaries and essentially would be a contract for personnel.
The Salida district would keep its stations and equipment. And the district’s name still would be on the side of its fire engines.
Stone said residents of the Salida district could expect to see 18 or 19 personnel initially arrive at a structure fire if there’s a contract with Modesto. He described how engines from Riverbank, Modesto and other agencies would respond to incidents at different locations in the Salida district.
The Modesto Fire Department has entered management or service agreements with Oakdale, Stanislaus Consolidated, Ceres and Turlock, creating an expansive network for fire protection and emergency response.
Stone said Salida’s paid firefighters would become employees of the Modesto Fire Department. He said the rural fire district is stretched thin in trying to protect residents and businesses within its 46-square-mile territory.
An interim chief for Salida
The potential agreement still is in negotiations, but one change will take effect this week. Modesto Fire Chief Alan Ernst said he’s scheduled to become the temporary fire chief for Salida, effective Monday, to satisfy a legal requirement.
The Salida district has been operating without a fire chief. Ernst will add the title to his Modesto Fire responsibilities.
Salida once again is looking to partner with an outside agency. It was a key member of the Modesto Regional Fire Authority, which was created in 2011 and dissolved in 2014.
Ernst said Friday that Modesto and Salida are working on a services agreement similar to the contracts between the city and Ceres and Oakdale. Modesto Fire’s agreements with Stanislaus Consolidated and Turlock are for administrative services.
Ernst said Salida is struggling with a limited staff of six allocated firefighter positions. With COVID-19 and other medical issues, staffing becomes a real challenge for Salida if a paid firefighter is injured, Ernst said.
Modesto could have a service agreement with Salida within two or three months, the chief said.
“We are still in the negotiations phase,” Ernst said. “But we are progressing well and hope to have something to bring to the City Council and fire board in the next few months.”
County Supervisor Terry Withrow, whose district includes Salida, said a fire service agreement would not affect the county Sheriff’s Department substation that’s located in the downtown Salida fire station. He said the county is not involved with the possible agreement between Salida Fire and Modesto, but he attended the Salida council meeting Tuesday.
Withrow said he understands why Salida is considering an agreement with Modesto. It comes down to a lack of personnel to provide fire services for the community, he said.
“The people of Salida need fire coverage,” Withrow said. “They need to have EMS (emergency medical service) coverage. They have to do something.”
This story was originally published July 29, 2022 at 6:48 AM.
