Reconstruction of downtown station to begin by December
With demolition and reconstruction of the downtown fire station
set to begin by the end of the year, crews expect to move
operations to a temporary station location on Fourth and Monterey
streets by the end of November.
The $5 million revamp of Fire Station 1 on the 100 block of
Fifth Street is expected to begin by December and be complete
within 18 months. The original station was built as a tractor
garage in the 1930s and converted to a single-story fire station in
1968.
The new station, funded by a Redevelopment Agency bond, will
contain more than 12,000 square feet in two stories, doubling the
space within the same building footprint.
Reconstruction of downtown station to begin by December
With demolition and reconstruction of the downtown fire station set to begin by the end of the year, crews expect to move operations to a temporary station location on Fourth and Monterey streets by the end of November.
The $5 million revamp of Fire Station 1 on the 100 block of Fifth Street is expected to begin by December and be complete within 18 months. The original station was built as a tractor garage in the 1930s and converted to a single-story fire station in 1968.
The new station, funded by a Redevelopment Agency bond, will contain more than 12,000 square feet in two stories, doubling the space within the same building footprint.
While construction proceeds, the city will rent a vacant car lot from Greenwood Chevrolet for $5,000 per month. The department plans to lease a 1979 modular office building that will be modified to include kitchen, bathroom and bedroom facilities.
Temporary communications systems will be added, along with a steel frame parking structure to house a fire engine. Trenching and electrical work and sewer and water hook-ups are required at the site, which is west of the Briggs Building parking garage.
Steel plates will be added to the driveway on Fourth Street and a concrete island on the property will be removed. The Hollister City Council, in its capacity as the RDA board, recently approved an appropriation of $115,000 to fund the temporary fire station.
“With the whole demolition and construction schedule, I believe we’ll be out of (the current fire station) by the first of the year,” said Fire Chief Fred Cheshire.
Some crews and equipment will work from Fire Station 2 at Union Road and Airline Highway during the reconstruction of the downtown station, but Cheshire said the department wanted to maintain its downtown presence to ensure the city remains covered during emergencies.
“We are guaranteeing that we have two units in service at all times,” he said. “Something to protect downtown, the west side and the north end of town and one engine at station 2.”
Asked whether he had concerns about fire trucks being able to quickly pull out of the temporary station onto Fourth Street during busy traffic times, Cheshire said curbs near the station entrance will be painted red to provide better visibility for fire crews. Eastbound lanes will also be painted with “Keep Clear” to ensure that engines have room to access the road during high traffic times.
The department recently had traffic preemption devices installed at the intersection of San Benito and Fourth streets to allow fire trucks to automatically get a green light when they are on an emergency call.
Cheshire said weather will play a “critical part” in the construction calendar.
“If we’re starting construction at the beginning of the year, I expect it’ll be all of the 18 months to get done,” he said. “I would be pleasantly surprised if it’s less than that.”
