The National City Fire Department celebrated the grand opening of its third fire station Tuesday morning.
Fire station 33, a temporary mobile home with a metal garage structure, opened at 20005 E.4th St. to support a fire squad that will help decrease response times in the northeastern quadrant of National City, said Frank Parra, National City’s director of emergency services. The new station cost about $500,000.
In March 2014, the city completed a response time survey and noticed that the northeastern quadrant of National City had suffered from longer emergency response times than any other parts of town. Parra said the fire department viewed this as a concern and worked diligently with the city to find a solution to decrease response times in that part of town.
Although a grand opening took place this week, the fire squad was officially placed in service on Oct. 10. The station houses two personnel, a fire captain and a firefighter paramedic.
Prior to having a fire squad, response times in National City’s northeastern quadrant averaged about seven and a half minutes per call, Parra said. With the new fire station, response times in that part of town have decreased to five and a half minutes, Parra said
National City Councilman Albert Mendivil said he has personally witnessed the impact on response times this new fire squad has had on residents in the northeastern quadrant.
“…About six weeks ago we had an emergency, we called 911… and this crew was there in what seemed like 30 seconds. I’m sure it was real close to that. They arrived quickly, efficiently, professionally and they got my mother in-law to the hospital and she is with us today,” Mendivil said.
Parra said that prior to having a fire squad, response times in National City’s northeastern quadrant averaged about seven and a half minutes per call. With the new fire station, response times in that part of town have decreased to five and a half minutes.
Before the new fire station, the northeastern quadrant mainly was serviced by fire station 31, located on the west side of National City, and occasionally the San Diego Fire Department would take some of those calls.
Fire station 33 will consist of a medium duty type-six response vehicle and carries a two-person crew of a fire captain and a fire fighter paramedic. Parra said staffing the squad was done with existing personnel, no additional staff were hired. Fire station 33 will also house the police department’s command vehicle, which is used as a mobile command center in situations like SWAT action.
The type six apparatus comes equipped with advance life support equipment and a fire suppression pump with 150 gallons of water.
“Most importantly, this vehicle is dedicated to our residents and visitors and does not respond outside our jurisdiction,” Parra said.
Funding for the fire squad was made possible by voter approved Prop.D, a one-cent sales tax measure that funds the city’s public safety. In addition, the fire department received a $25,000 grant from the Alliance Healthcare Foundation help with the purchase of equipment for the squad pilot program.
