SLO County beach city could get new, improved fire station. Here’s what’s planned
Morro Bay is one step closer to replacing a vintage, uninhabitable fire station on the north end of the city.
On Tuesday, the Morro Bay City Council voted unanimously to fund the design of a new, two-story fire station to replace the old facility on Bonita Street.
Right now, the Morro Bay Fire Department operates out of Station 1 on Harbor Street. Building a second fire station on the north end of the city will improve response times for residents in that area, Fire Chief Dan McCrain said.
The design will cost $93,190, which is partly covered by $77,776 of development impact fees, he said.
Friends of the Morro Bay Fire Department volunteered to cover the $15,414 shortfall, a representative of the non-profit said during public comment.
The new, 3,954-square-foot fire station would be designed to accommodate three firefighters and two fire engines.
“This design is forward thinking, anticipating future city needs and departmental needs as the fire service continues to change,” McCrain said. “The fire station will serve the city for the next 50+ years, and this design accounts for that.”
Once the fire station design is complete, McCrain can apply for grants, loans and other funding for construction.
“This is a multi-year process,” McCrain said. “This isn’t approve it tonight (and) we start construction next week. There’s many steps down the road.”
Rebuilding the fire station
During the 1970s, volunteers built the existing fire station at 460 Bonita St. without blueprints or a plan, McCrain said.
The station is used to store firefighting equipment, but it is not currently staffed — as the building includes exposed asbestos tiles, termite damage and breakage in the structural masonry blocks.
“The building condition is deteriorated and unlivable,” McCrain said.
In 2006, the city rebuilt the apparatus bay — which is where the fire engine and other emergency vehicles are housed. The 1,632-square-foot space can accommodate two fire engines and will be used by the new station.
The new, two-story living quarters will be a 2,322-square-foot building. Combined with the apparatus bay, the whole facility will be 3,954 square feet, McCrain said. To compare, the fire station on Harbor Street is a 14,816-square-foot facility.
Construction will cost about $2.3 million, he said.
The bottom floor of the new living quarters will include three small work stations, a bathroom, a storage area and a spot for exercise equipment. The second story will include three bedrooms, lockers, two full bathrooms, a kitchen and a breakfast bar.
Once the design is complete, McCrain will apply for any funding he can to build the new fire station.
Potential options include Federal Emergency Management Agency fire construction grants, donations, hazard mitigation grants and low-interest U. S. Department of Agriculture fire construction loans, he said.
“I’m looking at kicking over every rock and seeing how we can piece this together with the least amount of financial impact to the city,” McCrain said.
Why build a second fire station?
Building a second fire station will improve the Morro Bay Fire Department’s response time to calls for help, McCrain said.
Since 2004, the fire department’s call volume has increased by about 32%, he said.
“We have a larger population of elderly and retired citizens that translates to a higher need for emergency medical services,” McCrain said.
The most recent community risk assessment recommends a five-minute response time city-wide, but traveling to north Morro Bay from the Harbor Street station often takes longer, he said.
During mid-day on a Tuesday, Google Maps said it would take about eight minutes to get from the Harbor Street Station to Nutmeg Street, McCrain said. From the Bonita Street Station, however, the response time would be three minutes, he said.
Meanwhile, it takes about eight minutes to drive from the Harbor Street station to Blanco Street, but five minutes from Bonita Street, he said.
“Having a second fire station would allow the department to meet the goal of a five-minute-or-less response time to the entire city, reducing delays in patient care or fire suppression activities,” McCrain said. “This allows for an increased level of service to the residents of north Morro Bay.”
Adding a second fire station would also improve the city’s resilience to disasters, he said.
During the January 2023 atmospheric river storms, flooding closed Highway 1, Main Street and a handful of other roads in the city, cutting off north Morro Bay from south Morro Bay and the fire station there. Similar flooding happened during the 1995 storms.
Adding a fire station to north Morro Bay would ensure those residents have access to emergency services if the city is cut in half by a disaster again, he said.
