The Turlock Fire Department gave its annual report to the City Council earlier this month, highlighting the benefits of its ongoing partnership with the Modesto-Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Department.
The Turlock Fire Department is in its second full year of the administrative contract with Modesto Fire, which began in January 2022.
“It’s been a great partnership with Turlock. I think we’ve done a lot of positive things down here to ensure our level of service to the citizens of Turlock…I want to work hard to continue that relationship and partnership with Turlock,” said Modesto Fire Chief Kevin Wise.
Currently, Turlock Fire Department has four staffed stations, with four fire engines and one battalion chief for a total of 13 firefighters.
The Modesto-Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Department — which includes Modesto, Ceres, Oakdale, Turlock and Salida — has 27 fire stations, 24 fire engines, with four trucks/quints, five battalion chiefs, one fire investigator, one EMS captain for a total of 95 firefighters.
“That is a huge benefit when we see increased call volumes. We’re able to adjust resources to fill in gaps to ensure that the public receives the best possible service at all times. So, for example, when there’s a structure fire in Turlock all four units, if they’re in quarters, will go to that call and we’ll call for additional units to respond from the closest area — typically that’s Ceres — and they’ll respond down there. If the fire is large enough that it requires those resources, they stay and they assist. If those resources aren’t needed, a few of those engines will stay available in Turlock to respond to additional calls,” said Deputy Fire Chief Andrew Hunter.
The Turlock Fire Department call volume in 2023 was down slightly from 2022, but still trending upward since 2019. In 2023, the Turlock Fire Department responded to 8,311 total calls, down from 8,675 total calls in 2022, but still more than 2021 (8,302), 2020 (7,420) and 2019 (7,163).
The 2023 calls for service included 5,471 emergency medical calls, 302 vehicle accidents, 298 fire calls and 107 working structure fires. Average response time for priority calls in 2023 was 5 minutes and 8 seconds.
The Turlock Fire Department achieved significant milestones and undertook key initiatives to enhance its operations and community engagement, including:
· TFD was approved for a fleet maintenance agreement with the City of Modesto. This agreement ensures efficient maintenance and upkeep of firefighting vehicles, ensuring optimal readiness for emergency response.
· TFD successfully secured two Pierce Velocity Fire Engines, with an anticipated delivery date of 2026. Two Pierce engines ordered in 2022 are set to be delivered to TFD by November of this year.
· TFD welcomed four new firefighters and six lateral engineers, filling all line assignments and a majority of relief positions, ensuring adequate staffing levels.
· TFD saw numerous promotions within the department, as well as the retirement of two notable figures: Captain Frank Saldivar and Division Chief Bill Becker, whose contributions to the department and the community are deeply appreciated and celebrated.
· TFD organized a highly successful open house for Fire Prevention Week on Oct. 14, engaging the community and promoting fire prevention and safety awareness.
One of the department’s busiest days recently was the July 4 holiday. According to Hunter, TFD had 54 calls for service in Turlock, double that of a normal day. The July 4 calls includes 15 fire calls, while the department had 32 other calls come in at the same time.
“It was a very busy day,” he said.
