A temporary fire station will soon open in the Skyline area of San Diego, which suffers from slow response times.
The $400,000 station, which is slated to open in April, will serve as a placeholder until a permanent facility can be built for the neighborhood. Construction for the temporary station began on Monday.
“This community, as you stated, has been under-served," said Councilwoman Myrtle Cole who presents the area. "We don’t have the restaurants we need, we don’t have the grocery stores, we don't have the jobs that we need in this district.“
Last week, firefighters union President Alan Arrollado said temporary stations were a good way to get service into neighborhoods "without the challenge of building a $10 to $20 million permanent fire station."
The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department has been testing a "fast response squad" in nearby Encanto, which has shaved a couple of minutes off response times to 911 calls, according to Chief Javier Mainar.
His report, delivered to a City Council committee last week, said the two-person fast response crew required the help of additional firefighters in about two-thirds of the calls. Arrollado said that showed the necessity of establishing at least a temporary base in the area.
The closest full San Diego Fire-Rescue Department facilities are Fire Station 32 on Briarwood Road in Bay Terraces and Fire Station 12 on Imperial Avenue in Lincoln Park.
