Crews set to operate from parking lot at Fourth and Monterey
streets while downtown station is rebuilt
With the demolition and reconstruction of the downtown Hollister
fire station planned within the next few months and a temporary
station moving toward readiness, most crews are now operating out
of the station at the corner of Union Road and Airline Highway.
Crews set to operate from parking lot at Fourth and Monterey streets while downtown station is rebuilt
With the demolition and reconstruction of the downtown Hollister fire station planned within the next few months and a temporary station moving toward readiness, most crews are now operating out of the station at the corner of Union Road and Airline Highway.
“Everything that can be moved has been moved,” said Chief Fred Cheshire, referring to the old station at 110 Fifth St. “We are awaiting utility hook-up then construction of a temporary car port to keep our engine out of the weather” at the temporary station on the corner of Fourth and Monterey streets, just west of the downtown parking garage.
“We should be moved in shortly after the first of the year.”
The Hollister Redevelopment Agency is using a bond to fund the $5 million revamp of the downtown fire station, which originally was built as a tractor garage in the 1930s and converted to a fire station in 1968. The new building will contain more than 12,000 square feet in two stories, using the same footprint as the current building.
During the expected 18-month demolition and reconstruction phase, crews will be based at a temporary station in what is now a parking lot near the county courthouse.
“We have just a bare minimum of stuff at the Fifth Street site; just enough to house a crew for one engine so they have a place to store the engine, prepare their meals, and be there for a 24-hour shift,” Cheshire said. “Everything else is in storage or moved up here (to Station No. 2) already.”
The temporary station site, which the city is leasing from Greenwood Chevrolet for $5,000 per month, plans call for the installation of a 1979 modular office building that will be modified to include kitchen, bathroom and bedroom facilities.
Cheshire has said that it is important to maintain a downtown presence of fire crews during the station reconstruction, so that the city has two units in service at all times.
