Redding Fire Engine Number 5 is one hard working engine. The department’s top responding apparatus has had 3,232 calls for service so far this year alone. Redding Fire Department has been clamoring for some time that they’re stretched thin on the east side of town, with too much reliance on Fire Station Number 5, located on Hartnell Avenue at Churn Creek Road. A piece of land has already been purchased on which to build a Fire Station Number Nine on Tarmac Road at Shasta View Drive, but the city does not have the funds for construction. Overall, Redding Fire Department’s three shifts at 8 stations have responded to more 15,000 emergency calls this year.
-Steve Gibson