By Hannah Elsmore
The San Diego Union-Tribune
SANTEE, Calif. — Santee recently opened its first new fire station since 1964, part of a larger effort to broaden coverage and improve response times as demand for emergency services increases.
Interim Fire Station 20, in the southwestern part of the growing East County city, began operating Oct. 14.
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The expansion comes less than a year after residents rejected Measure S, a tax increase that would have funded a permanent fire station at the interim station’s southwestern location.
Without that money to build a permanent station, city officials opted to spend $2 million on the interim facility, with $1.5 million coming from the general fund and an additional $500,000 from the emergency medical services fund.
The decision was driven by reports that indicated a need for a third station to meet adequate response times citywide — which is about six minutes, Fire Chief Harvey Wallace said.
The department responded to 10,638 calls in 2024 and roughly 76% were medical emergencies.
Already, the new facility is cutting response times to the southwestern area, Wallace said.
“The engine went in service last Tuesday ( Oct. 14 ) and, within two hours, it ran its first response off Farrington Court, and our CAD data showed a four-minute response for engine 20 to that location,” Wallace said. “The response time from Stations 4 and 5 would have been nine minutes.”
The interim station houses one engine — which was transferred from Station 5 — along with three firefighter-paramedics.
In the meantime, the city is planning for a permanent three-bay facility that would be built near the operations center with an estimated cost of $21 million. It would house three engines and 10 crew members.
Because voters rejected the tax proposal, the city is considering state or federal funding options for the permanent station.
There is also still a large coverage gap in northeastern Santee, which Wallace said creates a need for a fourth station. The city is considering another permanent station site location, with an additional interim station estimated to cost $3.75 million.
“We all know we’ve got a lot of work to do, but we’ve made monumental strides the last couple of years,” Councilmember Dustin Trotter said.
As Santee expands fire station operations, Sharp Grossmont Hospital Emergency Department Medical Director Dr. James Elia said the move will improve treatment for time-sensitive cases. Sharp Grossmont Hospital receives most of the emergency patients coming from the Santee area.
Every minute counts in medical situations such as heart attacks or strokes, he said.
“If someone is having a stroke, the faster you get them to the hospital, the more brain tissue damage you could save,” Elia said, as an example.
Expansion of fire stations in rural areas is beneficial to the entire health care system, he said. While quickened response times are beneficial to a patient’s care at the hospital, it also allows first responders to begin treatment sooner, Elia noted.
“The initial first responder presenting there is really the first part in saving the patient’s life,” Elia said. “The fastest response is crucial.”
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