'The city is growing and we are moving backward': Op-ed
In today's guest essay, Amory Langmo of the Berkeley Fire Fighters Association urges officials not to cut BFD staffing or close Fire Station 4.
Editor's Note: TBS publishes guest essays from community members on issues of concern. Today's piece was written by Amory Langmo, president of the Berkeley Fire Fighters Association, IAFF Local 1227.
Langmo gave these remarks about the city budget to the Berkeley City Council last week. They have been reprinted here, slightly edited, by permission.
Good evening and thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Amory Langmo — I am the president of the Berkeley Fire Fighters Association, IAFF Local 1227.
Tonight, I want to use my time to speak on the notice of proposed position eliminations I received last Friday. In total, 20 Fire Department personnel have been proposed for elimination (eight firefighters, three apparatus operators, three captains, one staff captain, three non-safety paramedics, one fire marshal and one fire inspector), along with the closure of Fire Station 4 on Marin Avenue.
I want to make the case tonight for why this is an incredibly dangerous position for the city to take.
I also want to highlight something that should not be lost in this conversation: Over the last 18 years, the citizens of Berkeley have given the city a clear mandate to fund public safety.
They passed two dedicated fire department tax measures — Measure GG in 2008 and Measure FF in 2020 — bringing in nearly $16.2 million annually for the fire department.
That is the public telling the city, repeatedly, that they value this service.
Tonight's proposal moves in the opposite direction of that mandate.
City of Berkeley
These proposed cuts don't just reduce the Fire Department — they roll it back 20 years, in a city that has grown dramatically in every direction since then.
- Call volume over that same period: 11,500 incidents per year → 17,500 incidents per year
The city is growing — and we are moving backward.
- Berkeley is the second most densely populated city in California's top 50 — behind only San Francisco
- We are adding 500 new housing units every year — roughly 1% of total housing stock annually
- Population swells to over 150,000 when UC is in session
- More people. More buildings. More calls. Fewer firefighters.
Station 4 is not a low-volume luxury.
- Engine 4 ran 1,538 calls in 2025
- That includes 28 fires, 966 medical emergencies and 17 cardiac arrests
- 47% of the time citywide, there are multiple simultaneous incidents — units are already committed when the next call drops
- Engines 2, 5 and 6 are already at or above recommended maximum unit-hour utilization
- Station 4's 1,538 annual calls don't disappear when you close it — they get pushed onto companies that are already maxed out
The life-safety math:
- Every minute of delay in cardiac arrest reduces survival by 7–10%
- Modern home fires reach flashover in 6-9 minutes — fire doubles in size every 30-60 seconds
- Traumatic injury responses over 12 minutes are linked to nearly double the fatality rate compared to responses under 7 minutes
- These are not abstractions. Engine 4 responded to 17 cardiac arrests last year alone.
Emilie Raguso
The city's own experts said add resources — not cut them.
- In 2023, the city paid for an independent Standards of Coverage study
- Citygate's conclusion: Berkeley Fire is organized for "yesterday's mission" and is struggling to meet today's demand
- Their recommendation: Add four-person staffing to at least four of Berkeley's seven engines and both truck companies
- Four-person crews complete fireground tasks 5.1 minutes faster — 25% faster on these life-safety tasks (e.g. search and rescue, throwing ladders, pulling hose, extinguishing fire, forcing entry)
- The city commissioned that study. This proposal is the exact opposite of what it recommended.
Emilie Raguso
The bottom line
The citizens of Berkeley have voted twice in 18 years to fund this department.
They have given the city $16.2 million a year and a clear mandate.
I am asking the city to reject the proposed position eliminations and the closure of Fire Station 4, and to direct the city manager to find another path forward before the budget adoption.
The Scanner will periodically publish guest essays from community members on issues of interest or concern. Authors who are not already TBS members will receive a complimentary membership in return. Submit your ideas to TBS.
