The Rincon Valley Fire District (RVFD) currently serves about 22,500 and is growing. The service area has also expanded, due to the many new housing developments. The new Station 293 will be located on Colossal Cave Rd and Del Lago Rd and will join Stations 291 on Camino Loma Alta and 292 on Ranch Sands Rd. Community safety is always upmost in Fire Chief Jim Tucker’s mind. The new station will not be subject to potential railroad blockages because it will be located on the north side of the tracks, and will therefore reduce response times significantly. Chief Tucker says the new station will also be about 11,000 sq.ft. in size. In addition to the new station, significant renovations will be occurring at the station located on Camino Loma Alta (CLA). That location will house education and training for firefighters, with an eye toward future expansion as well. “We want to make that one a dual station where it would be our training facility and also a small fire station. We don’t want to increase our response times by closing that station. We are looking at future expansion..in 10 plus years.”
The renovation of the CLA station will provide a safer work environment for firefighters. “What we want to do is get that station up to modern standards where we reduce their cancer risk, and reduce their cardiovascular risk, and just make it a nicer place for them to live while they are on duty”, Chief Tucker concluded.
The entire project will be paid for by existing bonds and will cost about $8m to build. These funds will also pay for about half of the cost for the renovations at the CLA station, although additional funds will be needed to finish the renovation project.
The new station will be divided up into zones. The Chief explained “The hot zone, one zone, cold zone. Everything is sectioned out based on the zones so firefighters aren’t walking through dirty areas to get to the clean area.”
Construction will begin in July of this year, and if everything goes according to plan the new station could be open by the end of 2027.
