For the first time in 23 years, all of Oakland’s fire houses will soon be open and operational at the same time, Oakland Fire Department officials said Monday.
On Sunday, most of the city’s 26 fire stations were up and running despite Oakland’s ongoing and drastic budgetary struggles, said OFD Chief Damon Covington.
“This is great news for Oakland,” Covington said. “It’s been a long time coming.” Three of the city’s fire stations have been closed for some time now — one due to a remodeling project that’s a few weeks from completion and two others that were shuttered on a rotating basis due to the city’s efforts to close a nearly $130 million budget deficit for the fiscal year ending June 30…