The community of Chester in Plumas County will soon be without a fire department or ambulance service. This comes after years of financial struggles, and a budget deficit that officials say can’t be closed.
The Chester Public Utilities District Board of Directors authorized the layoffs late last month, and they won’t take effect until February. But officials say services could stop sooner, if the department falls below critical minimum staffing levels.
“We have to have a bare minimum of two people on duty 24 hours a day,” said general manager Adam Cox. “So when we are unable to have two people on duty 24/7, that is really going to be when we end service.”
While the clock is ticking, Chester residents aren’t sure what to expect next. In a state that is already seeing an exodus of insurance providers, some fear the lack of firefighting services will leave homeowners with no options.
“If we have an incident that makes fire response take longer, our homeowners insurance policies are likely to get dropped collectively as a community,” said Annika Peacock, founder of the informal Chester Citizens Advisory Committee. “It would take the housing values down to basically zero.”
The nearby Peninsula Fire Protection District in Almanor is available to provide services to Chester, but that will mean adding an extra 15 to 20 minutes to emergency response times.
