San Carlos Fire Station 16 replacement takes shape

The current station’s lack of a rear entry door at the apparatus bays requires firefighters to get off the engines before they are backed into the station, which barely has enough clearance for the engines to enter, explained Machida. Because the current structure has fallen behind current building codes and seismic standards, officials have determined replacing the current building with a new one would be more cost-effective than a renovation project, he added.

Dave Pucci, Redwood City deputy fire chief, said his department, which also serves San Carlos, also hoped hot and cold zones could be established in the building. By keeping equipment that could become contaminated during emergency responses in the apparatus bays and separate from the kitchen and dining areas of the building, the practice of establishing hot and cold zones in the building allows firefighters to minimize their exposure to carcinogens in the station, explained Pucci.

Pucci said officials would likely house the two fire engines currently used at Fire Station 16 at Fire Station 13 at 525 Laurel St. during construction of the new structure. Though he acknowledged response times would be slower during construction, Pucci said officials could not identify another location where a temporary station could be built and also noted the costs could increase by some $1.4 million if they were to build a temporary station.

Machida said that if the financing and construction schedule stays on schedule, demolition of the current station could start as early as 2021. He acknowledged the possibility that the costs of the project — currently estimated to cost some $1,100 per square foot to build — could rise due to rising construction and material costs as well as tariffs on foreign products.

Though $300,000 has already been allocated toward the project’s design costs, Machida estimated they would fall between $600,000 and $800,000 based on a request for quotations from architects conducted last fall. He said officials would request additional funds for the design of the building at the council’s mid-cycle budget review and funding in the amount of $11 million has been identified from future years in the city’s capital improvements budget to support the project.

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