At the recent Oakdale Fire Protection District meeting, board members along with Chief Clint Bray of the Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District discussed developments regarding contract negotiations and the progress of the annexation study being conducted by Capitol Public Finance. Chief Bray reminded everyone that the study takes multiple factors into consideration including the amount of service calls, budgets and allocations for various services provided by the departments and that it will take several months to compile and analyze all of that information.

Once all of the data has been compiled, the information will be reviewed by multiple entities including the OFPD, City of Oakdale and Stanislaus County to determine further steps. Chief Bray reminded residents that there will be town hall meetings in which residents can voice concerns, ask questions and provide feedback prior to any final decisions being made. As of now, the process should be completed prior to the end of the current contract with the City of Modesto, which expires at the end of 2027.

Residents continued to express concern regarding coverage and staffing for their respective communities with OFPD currently providing staff for the Knights Ferry fire station only, as the number of service calls is significantly higher in Knights Ferry when compared to Valley Home.

Board member Rod Gambini sympathized with residents, noting, “We had to do something because the costs are going up and the money is not,” explaining why resources had to be allocated according to response times, service calls and so forth.

Chief Bray also explained that it takes the Oakdale Fire Department about 25 minutes to reach Knights Ferry compared to only eight minutes to reach Valley Home and that logistically it made more sense to staff Knights Ferry than Valley Home at this time.

Board members reminded residents that all of these decisions regarding staffing will be reevaluated once they review the data from the study and decide whether or not to move forward with the annexation. The next meeting for the OFPD will take place on Thursday, April 9 at 10 a.m. at the Valley Home Fire Station, 13200 Valley Home Road in Valley Home.