South City moves ahead on long-awaited fire station

The station underwent a remodel in 2010; however, Fire Chief Matt Samson said the money it had received went toward addressing specific health and safety issues and was not meant to update and expand the entire building to meet current standards.

“Station 63 is the city’s busiest and it’s held that distinction now for three decades,” Samson said.

“The grant money was really focused on addressing those health and safety issues and allowing the fire department to remain in that location because geographically it’s very advantageous to stay west of El Camino, as most of the district’s calls are west of the street itself.”

He added that the building structure and size, including seismic updates, are not up to today’s standards.

“The station as it is today is operationally limited and the genesis of this is because the facility was never designed to house a fire station,” he said.

The new fire station will be located at 71 Camaritas Ave., a two-story, 10,150-square-foot building that will comprise six double dormitories and three bathrooms.

The project is expected to cost about $37 million, with the majority of funds coming from a land sale to biotechnology firm Genentech. About $9 million is part of a community benefit payment from Southline, a nearly 30-acre life science development project.

The City Council unanimously approved moving ahead with the fire station updates.

“The demand is only going to get bigger. As the city grows, there are going to be more services needed,” Councilmember Mark Nagales said. “I think having this fire station and having more capacity to provide services is going to be really key.”

The project targets construction for late summer 2026.