Paso Robles breaks ground on new fire station

PASO ROBLES, Calif. -- The City of Paso Robles broke ground on a new facility on Friday morning.

City officials held a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the beginning of construction for a new public safety facility at 2924 Union Road.

When the facility is complete, it will house Fire Station 3 and will be a public safety training facility.

According to reports dating back to 2015, Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services, or PRFES, was found to be understaffed compared to communities of similar size and population. This new facility, it will allow the city to increase its public safety services and decrease response times by having a facility on the northeast side of the city. 

The facility was purchased back in 2019 with plans of developing a Fire Station 3.

Due to the COVID pandemic, the planning for the facility was placed on hold until the passage of Measure J20, which is a half-cent sales tax that will provide the $3 to $10 million necessary to complete the project.

In 2018 and 2020, the city accepted the SAFER Grant awards of $1.4 million and $1.2 million to cover the salary and benefit costs for a total of nine firefighters positions over a three-year period for each grant.

The money will help hire more staff for the facility.

Paso Robles City Councilmembers, Supplemental Sales Tax Oversight Committee members, and project contractors and consultants.

“This new facility is emblematic of the City Council’s dedication to the primary importance of public safety and just one of the strategies in place to keep Paso Robles residents and their property safe.” Says Mayor Steve Martin. 

The new station will be built in phases.

Grading of the site should start in mid-September, construction of the fire station is expected to start mid-November, with the fire station staffed before winter 2022.