Willow Glen Resident

News

San Jose's population jump creates a need for more city fire stations

By Eli Segall

San Jose fire stations are being rebuilt, refurbished and constructed from the ground up in an effort to better serve the area's growing population.

To accommodate this growth, three new stations are being built in neighborhoods that will each see a spike in residents.

Station No. 37 is planned for the Willow Glen-Cambrian neighborhood; no site has been chosen, nor has a construction timeline been developed. Close to 1,000 residential units are scheduled to be built near the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Race Street, and a few blocks away the former Del Monte Cannery has been tapped for a 390 single-family home development. Two additional stations are scheduled to come online in the future, one in North San Jose and another in South San Jose.

In total, 20 of San Jose's 31 existing fire stations are slated for modifications. Ten will receive minor upgrades--new paint, tiling--while four others are scheduled for significant changes, such as redesigned kitchens and new electrical systems. Six stations will be moved into bigger firehouses, and three new stations are planned for neighborhoods that need increased fire service.

The $85 million overhaul is funded by Measure O, a bond measure approved by San Jose voters in November 2002. The measure authorized $159 million to be spent on public safety projects citywide, including fire, police and 911 communications.

Station upgrades are long overdue, fire officials say. Four stations picked for relocation have occupied tightly cramped residential homes since the 1970s, said fire department planning and deployment officer Geoff Cady. These stations were opened in the homes as a temporary response to a then-housing boom. Other stations on tap for renovation currently have tight quarters, outdated infrastructures and poor equipment, he added.

Cady also pointed out that with San Jose's rising population, fire services have been stretched thin.

"If you live in the city and pay city taxes, you should expect an equitable level of services," Cady said, "but that's not always the case."

Since 1970, San Jose's population has more than doubled to its current size of 950,000, and the number continues to rise; the population will reach 1.4 million by 2030, according to figures from the Association of Bay Area Governments.

Despite the new stations, fire officials still anticipate service problems; the department is developing a forecast of how often its fire stations will need moderate to significant changes to keep up with city growth.

"With the housing development of the past six or seven years, we might propose a system adjustment every three to four years," Cady said.

These changes would mimic the current overhaul, which could include the continued construction of new stations and modifying and relocating existing firehouses, he said.