The battle over fire stations and firefighter pensions was front and center Tuesday at a meeting in Contra Costa County. Four fire stations are on the chopping block, at risk of closure in early January.
Members of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Board spent the afternoon listening to comments from the public. Many were fighting to keep their neighborhood fire station open.
"Clayton would no longer have a fire station in the city of Clayton," resident Becky Hanson said. "That means the response is going to be that much longer."
Firefighters say they have done their part to prevent the closures.
"We've given up 10 percent of our salaries," fire engineer Vito Impastato said. "The governor has implemented a pension reform plan and we fall under that."
Board members decided they needed more information and agreed to discuss the proposed closures again next week.
The district says it's facing these closures because Measure Q failed to pass in November. The fire chief says that even if the district decides to close these four stations, the district may still be looking at two additional closures by 2014.
