Time to ease firefighters' commutes Time to ease firefighters' commutes (June 17, 2005)

The American Dream of owning your own home has been a part of our culture for years, and persists today as the driving force behind the rising home prices in job-rich Mountain View.

But while the dream has come alive for many local homeowners, hundreds of people who work in our city have been priced out of the real estate market and now are part of the growing legion of commuters who found more affordable homes in the East Bay, Central Valley or beyond. The unfortunate trade-off is a long and often harrowing commute to reach their jobs in Mountain View or nearby cities.

This phenomenon can be found in all industries, but is particularly prevalent among the firefighters who work for the city, even though many earn $100,000 or more per year. As noted in a Voice story by Jon Wiener two weeks ago, only two of the city's 69 firefighters and two of the department's 17 support staff live in the city.

To find more affordable housing, Mountain View firefighters have settled in Tracy, Modesto, or points even farther east, resulting in commute times of two or more hours for a 100-plus-mile trip. All in all, the Mountain View firefighters estimate they clock nearly 900,000 miles a year, just to get to work.

Firefighters say at least part of their problem is the city's work schedule, which currently requires department members to work many short shifts, which causes more trips between their homes and Mountain View.

The answer, they say, is a revised schedule that would have firefighters work for two full days and then take four days off. Known as a 48/96, this schedule could reduce department commutes by an average of 6,500 miles per employee, or up to 450,000 miles a year.

This proposal is before the city administration now, and we hope it is ultimately approved. City officials say they want to make sure there are no unseen disadvantages, and the plan won't address the concerns about whether the far-flung firefighting force would be able to get back to the city in an emergency. Unfortunately, short of offering ultra-low interest loans for housing, the city has little choice but to allow its workers to live where they wish, so long as they get to work in a timely manner.

When the city encountered similar problems with its police force, rooms were provided so officers could sleep at the station between shifts. But firefighters are different. They work around the clock, eating and sleeping in the fire house. By working two days on and four days off, they will cut the number of commute drives in half, a much better arrangement for everyone.

If a new schedule can be arranged, firefighters will spend less time on the road without sacrificing productivity or effectiveness. And the city will have removed more than 400,000 miles of commute time and a fair amount of traffic congestion from the area's clogged highways, not to mention a slight improvement in air quality. It sounds like a good idea.

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