By Marty Schladen
The El Paso Times
EL PASO, Texas — Fire Station 13 is the kind of government neighbors appreciate. Really appreciate.
“These fire stations have helped me since I was young and now I’m old,” said Linda Elorduy, 68, who has lived most of her life near the station at 5415 Trowbridge near Montana Avenue.
Having a fire station in the neighborhood makes people feel safe, she said. There is no ambulance in the 57-year-old station, but firefighters trained in first-aid are always quick to respond to emergency medical calls.
Imagine residents’ anger when they learned this spring the city might close the station in favor of one close to Interstate 10 — almost a mile away through several busy intersections.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with it,” Elorduy said of Station 13. “It’s in a perfect place.”
The City Council gave the go-ahead in March for the city staff to look for about five acres to build a new station near where I-10 crosses Raynolds Street. Stations 13 and 5, at 4240 Alameda Drive, would be shuttered under the plan.
But having heard from angry Central El Paso residents, City Rep. Susie Byrd said she had reached one conclusion.
“There’s not one single person in that neighborhood who’s in support of consolidation” of the two stations, Byrd said. Her district includes Station 13.
Fire Chief Otto Drozd, though, said he sees several good reasons for consolidation.
He said Stations 13 and 5 back up to Fort Bliss and Juarez, respectively, so they are not located where they can serve the most homes quickly.
In addition, Drozd said, the proposed $3.4 million cost of a new station would be $1.6 million less than the cost to bring aging stations 13 and 5 up to standard.
Lastly, he said, a consolidated station would include an ambulance, a hazardous materials team, a battalion chief and equipment not available in the two existing stations.
Drozd conceded that it would take longer to get to homes that are in close proximity to stations 5 and 13. But, he said, a new station would more efficiently enable firefighters to get the right equipment and people to where they are needed.
Residents of the neighborhood around Station 13 are not buying his arguments.
“What if we need (help) right away?” asked Amanda Mendoza, 71.
Many of the neighborhood’s residents are elderly. Elorduy said she was having a hard time reaching neighbors Friday because they were out cashing Social Security checks.
The increased distance is substantial and response times could be greater still, said Bob Geyer, 62, a wheelchair-using resident of the neighborhood.
“To my house, (the proposed location) is twice as far as the station on Trowbridge,” Geyer said.
To make sure, Geyer made the drive from the site of the proposed station to Station 13 one recent night. The Trowbridge station is .80 miles from his house; the proposed new station would be 1.6 miles away from his house.
“There’s a lot more traffic,” he said. “To me, it’s a life-or-death issue.”
Monica Galante has spent all but eight months of her 48 years living near Station 13. She teaches online courses for the University of Phoenix and returned to El Paso to care for her aging parents. When she heard the station might close, she spread the word.
“The fire station has served as a safety presence in the neighborhood,” Galante said.
Byrd, whose district includes Station 13, said she initially supported consolidation of the two older stations. Surprised by the outcry, Byrd said, she held a public meeting at Hillside Elementary School in April. Hundreds crowded into the cafeteria.
“They were caught by surprise,” Joe Jimenez, president of the United Neighborhood Association, said of Byrd and other city officials.
Byrd said that one after another, residents raised pointed, nuanced questions about the proposal.
Galante and others were not satisfied with the answers they got.
“I don’t feel like I have enough information from the city and the fire department,” Galante said.
Galante, Jimenez and three other residents said they will attend a closed-door meeting with Byrd and the fire chief on June 30. They will present proposals to the neighborhood after that.
Byrd wants to put two proposals — one involving keeping open stations 13 and 5 — before the City Council for an up-or-down vote before the end of summer.
Asked about residents who felt left out when consolidation was proposed, Byrd pointed out that she called a community meeting when she learned of the anger.
City Rep. Emma Acosta represents the district where Station 5 is located.
Martha Cortez and her husband, Cesar, both have health problems and they live near Station 13. For them, the attempt to seek community input about the fate of Station 13 is a little too little, a little too late.
“People make decisions without taking into consideration what people in the area want,” Martha Cortez said.
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