Fire District Plans New Station in Alamo

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July 2009
Fire District Plans New Station in Alamo
Serving Alamo, Diablo and Surrounding Communities
By Sharon Burke
Out with the Old, In with the New
In a town where residents pride themselves on living here a very long
time, one of the oldest residents of Alamo may soon be replaced. Alamo’s
venerable fire station #32 on Stone Valley Road was built in 1958 at a cost
of $38,000 to serve the then volunteer fire department as a mustering station
and to house one firefighter. At the time, only ranches and one subdivision
were east of the station and the station served an Alamo population of 1,700,
nearly all on the Westside.
Driving through
downtown Alamo reveals many changes.
Longs Drug Store is in
the midst of its transition to CVS, the Alamo
Pet Store has relocated across the street to
Alamo Plaza. Curves
will become Kumon
Learning Center. Alamo
Creek Restaurant has become Maggieray’s Barbecue. The Courtyard Cafe
is now The Peasants Courtyard. Yellow Wood is now serving wine on their
lovely outdoor patio, and the Garden Center of Alamo Ace Hardware is
now open in the old Yardbirds/Home Depot location with the remainder
of the new hardware store to open mid-August. Check out these new businesses that are dotting the Alamo landscape!
Fire station #32 on Stone Valley Rd
Times have changed. Today, the 3,700 square foot structure houses six firefighters in two crews, eighteen firefighters and their gear in total for the three
shifts. Two structure fire engines, an emergency medical vehicle and a wildland
fire engine cannot fit in the existing station so two are housed outside in a carport. Emergency paramedic response and hazardous material spills, explosions,
freeway accidents, grassland fires, and search and rescue are all part of a firefighter’s duties. Station 32 is half the size of the next smallest district station,
and that station houses only one crew of three firefighters, not six.
In December 2008, the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District purchased Alamo MAC Discussions on Track
a 1.3 acre lot at 2100 Stone Valley Road, corner of Miranda Avenue, and intends By Sharon Burke
to build a new Station 32 at that location.
Forty Alamo residents turned out at the Alamo Community Council
meeting on June 11 to find out more about the proposed Municipal Advisory Council for Alamo. Supervisor Piepho’s Chief of Staff, Tomi van
de Brooke, presented a proposed draft Board of Supervisors resolution
and took questions from the audience.
The draft resolution outlined all the necessary steps for creation of
the MAC, including boundaries, membership of seven residents, term
of office to be the same as Supervisor Piepho’s term of office, and duties and powers. Mrs. Van de Brooke noted that Supervisor Piepho’s
office would provide staff support for the MAC. A Municipal Advisory
Plans for the new station can be found at www.alamore.org.
Council is authorized by California state law, giving a County the auOn a recent visit to the existing fire station, fire Captains Paul Taylor and
See MAC continued on page 26
Dennis Williams and four firefighters pointed out the issues with the existing
station that hamper their emergency response. A curve in Stone Valley Road to
the west blocks a clear view down the road. Although a flashing yellow light
Backyard Bounty
Volume IX- Number 7
suspended over the road can be turned red instantly by the firefighters, because it
3000F Danville Blvd. #117, Alamo, CA 94507
is not a regular stop, firefighters say local residents can disregard the signal. The
Telephone (925) 820-8662
Fax (925) 406-0547
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See Station continued on page 23
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Staff - Sharon Burke
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not necessarily reflect that of Alamo Today. Alamo Today is not
responsible for the content of any of the advertising herein, nor
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Station continued from front page
July 2009 - Page 23
amount of traffic and the diminished view to the west means fire crews inch out of the driveway,
adding seconds to each call. Response time is even more hampered if firefighters need to deploy
one of the two engines stored in the carport. Their gear cannot be kept ready in the unprotected
location, and must be transferred from the indoor bays, adding to their turnout time. Although
rare, winter weather sometimes means freezing episodes, and heaters must be used on the outdoor
stored apparatus to keep engines ready to roll and water tanks from freezing.
Two engines are now housed in the outdoor carport.
With the purchase of the Miranda Avenue corner site, SRV Fire has discarded plans to remodel
at the existing site or to build two fire stations, one in North Alamo and one in South Alamo. District
Fire Chief Richard Price stated that studies showed that two crews situated at Alamo’s geographic
center provided a more efficient response from one station than situating two stations.
The two station scenario was part of the district’s plan when it purchased a ¾ acre parcel at
the corner of Hemme Avenue and Danville Boulevard in December 2005. But that plan depended
on finding another suitable location in the Livorna Road area for the second station, and suitable
land proved difficult to locate. The district also pursued plans to replace Station 32 at its existing
Stone Valley Road site by purchasing 20 feet on its western border from the adjacent neighbor
and beginning discussions with SRV School District to use Stone Valley School as a temporary
location for the two crews. That plan was abandoned when fire crews noted the “for sale” sign
at 2100 Stone Valley Road, and advised district management, who sought Board approval and
purchased the property within days for $1.2 million.
The key to the fire district’s purchase of the property is the traffic signal at Miranda Avenue.
“To be at a signalized intersection, that is huge for a fire station location”, said Chief Price. “To
be at a signalized intersection in the exact geographic center of Alamo, that is even more huge”.
In addition, the size of the property will allow indoor garaging for all the fire apparatus as well
as pull through access without the need to back up into traffic. With the existing signal light, fire
crews will have the ability to stop traffic in the intersection.
Several Alamo residents are opposed to the fire district’s plan to site Station 32 at Miranda
Avenue. Their concerns are financial, environmental and safety related.
“It is incomprehensible to me that the district would plan this project at this time in the
midst of a major recession, with their revenues going down and their expenditures going up”,
stated Nancy Wolske. She is also concerned the building will jeopardize Stone Valley Creek,
which runs through the northern border of the property, as well as several stately existing
oak trees. She believes it makes more financial sense to remodel the existing station at its
current site.
Bob Cohen’s primary concern is school
children traveling to Stone Valley Middle
School by bike and foot. “It’s a real safety
issue with no sidewalk down one side of
Miranda Avenue, and Miranda Avenue is a
very narrow street. If cars move aside to accommodate emergency vehicles, they will be
in the path of school children”. He believes
that fire crews will discover that they will have
more traffic than they have now. The existing sidewalk is on the fire station side of the
street, adding to his concerns about emergency
vehicles exiting across the sidewalk school
children use. Mr. Cohen is also concerned
Waiting for traffic to stop while exiting the current station about the fire station moving 2,000 feet further
can sometimes be a problem for firefighters.
away from Westside neighborhoods and 2,000
feet further away from freeway access, which is often the fastest
way to northern or southern areas of Alamo.
Corinne Barlow concurs with Mr. Cohen, stating “it is complete
gridlock on Miranda Avenue at certain times of the day. There is
no room for any additional vehicles down the street”. She is also
worried that the fire district has not conducted any noise studies
or traffic studies at the site, and that they moved too fast to secure
the site without proper due diligence. She states the Fire District
needs to be more proactive with neighbors, keeping them informed
of their plans and any studies to be conducted.
Not all residents are opposed to the fire district’s plans. Jim
Peterson believes emergency response will be improved with “two
road accesses and not just one”, although he adds the fire district
must address neighborhood concerns. He thinks it’s appropriate
that the fire district is applying for federal stimulus funds to build
the new station: “Why shouldn’t we bring some of that money
back here to Alamo?”
Current fire station neighbor Randy Nahas thinks fire stations
make good neighbors. He keeps 4-H animals and boards horses
on the adjoining property. “It’s always a good thing when the
fire hose can reach your house from the fire station driveway”,
he stated. Firefighters have noticed when one of his animals was
trapped and rescued it. “They are very conscientious of how they
deal with neighbors and do not exit with sirens blaring unless it
See Station continued on page 27
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Station continued from page 23
is urgently required by traffic conditions”, he said.
Tiffany Hollfelder of San Ramon has been a neighbor of Station 38
for sixteen years. She agrees with Mr. Nahas about the station as a good
neighbor and notes the firefighters participate in community service activities. As an added benefit, during the state required rolling blackouts
of a few years back, her house was on the same grid as the fire station
and was never blacked out. She concurs that the fire crews judiciously
use the sirens depending on time of day and traffic conditions to preserve
neighborhood peace.
At its March 18 meeting, the San Ramon Valley Planning Commission
found that the proposed fire station use at the Miranda Avenue site was in
conformance with the County’s general plan for Alamo. The fire district
is currently planning to apply for a federal Homeland Security grant intended specifically for fire station construction. The district’s most recently
completed station, Station 36 in Blackhawk, which opened in April 2009,
cost $3.6 million to build, exclusive of land costs, and estimates are that
the new Alamo station will cost a similar amount.
Both station sites are within 1,000 feet of the exact geographical center
of Station 32’s service area. Station 32 serves the Westside of Alamo from
Amy Way (furthest northern point) to Kirkcrest Lane (furthest southern
point) and the Eastside from Dorchester Lane (furthest northern/eastern
point) to Golden Grass Drive (furthest southern/eastern point). Station 32
does not serve northwest Alamo above Christopher Lane (part of Contra
Costa County Fire District, served from Rossmoor station) nor Whitegate,
Bryan Ranch or Alamo Oaks (served by Station 33 on Diablo Road).
Alamo residents interested in the plans for the new fire station may
visit the Fire District’s website, www.firedepartment.org, where the plans
can be found under the Construction Projects link. Station 32 firefighters
welcome visits from Alamo residents, and are particularly glad to see
youngsters for a tour of the fire engines. Alamo residents interested in a
tour of Alamo’s current Station 32 should call the District office at 8386600 to schedule a convenient time.
July 2009 - Page 27
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The case for a new Fire Station at Miranda Avenue:
The case against a new Fire Station at Miranda Avenue:
• Signalized intersection means faster response to emergency calls.
• New site will allow for uninterrupted service from existing site
while building is going on. Remodeling the existing site would mean
additional costs that cannot be recouped such as rent and expenditures
to make a temporary site suitable.
• Dual access for exiting fire trucks will mean faster response to
emergency calls.
• Site is at geographical center of Alamo’s service area.
• Larger site will allow for optimal design of fire station to modern
standards. New station will be built to earthquake standards to withstand
an 8.0 earthquake and will be able to accommodate female firefighters,
unlike the existing station.
• Larger site will allow for pull through of fire engines without need
to back up into traffic.
• Station will be funded with Homeland Security grant, providing
good value for district taxpayers..
• Due to the recession, construction costs are lower and inflation is near
zero, providing a good time to build. Hemme Avenue site is for sale, and
existing Stone Valley Road site can be sold after new station is built.
• Three existing fire stations elsewhere in the district are located adjacent
to schools without any problems. Emergency vehicle traffic already uses
Miranda Avenue to access Miranda Avenue neighborhoods. Station firefighters are experienced with the problems caused by school traffic.
• Although less than budgeted, district property tax collections were up
slightly in 2008-2009. The district has a General Fund reserve of $32 million.
• Emergency response vehicles on Miranda Avenue will jeopardize
school children traveling by bike and foot to Stone Valley Middle
School on narrow Miranda Avenue.
• Gridlocked traffic on Miranda Avenue at school pick up and
drop off times will hamper emergency response while endangering
residents and schoolchildren.
• District is funded mainly with property tax revenues. Property
tax revenues will decline in future. Bad time to build, due to the
continuing economic crisis.
• Possible harm to the environment from proximity to Stone Valley Creek.
• Poor use of taxpayer funds to build a fire station instead of
remodeling the existing station. Alternatives are available to house
firefighters while remodeling.
• Fire district has not conducted any traffic or noise studies at new
site, nor any seismic or other studies at existing site.
• Lack of a sidewalk on western side of Miranda Avenue endangers
pedestrians when emergency vehicle response is added.
• Moving 2,000 feet further from freeway will delay emergency
response.
• Moving 2,000 feet further from Westside neighborhoods will
increase response times to those neighborhoods.
• District purchased property too hastily, without due diligence.