Dial 9-1-1 if your house is on fire in Ripon and the chances are you may not get the best possible outcome.

It’s because Ripon Consolidated Fire District only has the paid manpower to man one fire engine at a time.

And retaining firefighter is getting tougher when Ripon’s starting pay is $21.13 an hour, just $1.13 more than the minimum wage fast food workers get at the Ripon McDonald’s.

As a result, a fire engine arrives in minutes but there may be a delay for firefighters entering a burning structure.

Federal regulations forbid it.

There must be a minimum of two firefighters on the outside and a minimum of two firefighters entering a burning structure.

As a result, Ripon firefighters can’t enter a burning building until mutual aid engines from either Manteca, Lathrop-Manteca, Escalon — all miles away — arrive on scene.

It is one of the reasons the district is seeking property owner approval of an increase in parcel tax rates that have not been increased since 1985.

The district board is expected to authorize the parcel hike ask when they meet Thursday, April 11, at 2 p.m. at the headquarters fire station at 142 South Stockton Ave., Ripon.

The rate hike, if approved by the majority of property owners, would set the assessment at an estimated:

*$250 a year ($21 a month) for single family homes up to 3,600 square feet.

*$264 a year ($22 a month) for single family homes between 3,601 and 4,526 square feet.

*$278 a year ($23) a month) for single families homes more than 4,526 square feet.

*$1,526 a year for multiple-unit housing with 5 to 10 units.

*$3,220 a year for multiple- unit housing with 21 to 40 units.

*$16,124 a year for multiple-unit housing with more than 100 units.

*$143 for all row crop and orchard agricultural parcels.

The parcel tax hike is tailored to generate funds needed to hire six firefighters to allow the opening of the River Road fire station with an engine company staffed 24/7.

It also will address salary and other issues that are making it difficult to compete for firefighter personnel with nearby jurisdictions.

The starting pay for firefighters in Ripon of $21.23 has led to Ripon Fire being consistently short staffed.

 The district, with 56 square miles and 22,000 residents that live primarily within the City of Ripon, also is lagging in volunteer and reserve firefighters due to time commitments and work schedules.

Ripon residents also count on the fire district for advanced life support ambulances.

The department handled 2,000 plus calls in 2023. Of those, about 25 percent occurs at or new the same time.

Again, with one engine it requires the availability of a distant fire engine from a nearby jurisdiction for a timely response.

The lack of a second manned engine at the River Road Fire station that was built in response to City of Ripon’s growth has resulted in response times in 2023 being three minutes longer than they were in 2016.

If the board on April 11 proceeds with authorizing the parcel tax increase vote, ballots will be mailed in late April and May to property owners.

The mailed back ballots will be tabulated in June.

The  current property tax rate was set in 1985.

Efforts to increase it in 2007 and 2018 failed.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com