A recent incident in Ripon is shedding light on the growing strain on the city's fire department.

In late July, the city's only fire engine was responding to a call about a child locked in a car when a vegetation fire broke out. With the engine unavailable, paramedics, who are also trained firefighters, were forced to monitor the flames until the fire engine could arrive and extinguish the blaze.

The Ripon Consolidated Fire District says situations like this are becoming more common due to chronic understaffing and a lack of resources.

Ripon, a city of nearly 20,000 people, is served by just one fire engine and one ambulance. The city's second fire station, built in 2018 on North Ripon Road, remains unstaffed.

"The infrastructure is here, we have an engine inside ready to go, we're jus

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