GILROY
– At 8 this morning, Gilroy officially became a three-fire
station town – albeit a month later than scheduled.
Nearly 25 years after Gilroy’s second fire station opened on
Wren Avenue, today Gilroy Fire Department Capt. Morris McHenry and
firefighter/paramedic Lani Antonio are working the first shift of
the department’s new two-man paramedic squad stationed at 880
Sunrise Drive.
GILROY – At 8 this morning, Gilroy officially became a three-fire station town – albeit a month later than scheduled.
Nearly 25 years after Gilroy’s second fire station opened on Wren Avenue, today Gilroy Fire Department Capt. Morris McHenry and firefighter/paramedic Lani Antonio are working the first shift of the department’s new two-man paramedic squad stationed at 880 Sunrise Drive.
McHenry and Antonio are christening the GFD’s singlewide trailer parked at the future site of its $3.7 million, 8,500-square-foot Sunrise Station a quarter-mile west of Santa Teresa Boulevard and Sunrise Drive in the Northwest quadrant.
The mission of the station will be to provide medical, and eventually fire, coverage to citizens in Gilroy’s Northwest quadrant, western hills and even some unincorporated neighborhoods north of town – all areas of booming populations that have consistently recorded some of the city’s slowest emergency response times throughout the past decade.
“This is a significant milestone for the fire department,” said GFD Chief Jeff Clet. “It shows we’re moving forward to meet our service goals and keep up with Gilroy’s growth. Gilroy isn’t a small town anymore.”
While it’s not much to look at right now, the temporary 60-by-14-foot trailer will receive all medical calls coming from the northwest section of the city until the permanent station being constructed on the same lot is complete in April.
A two-man crew of a GFD fire captain and a firefighter/paramedic will respond to all area medical calls from the trailer, giving the GFD three full-time response crews.
The Northwest quadrant averages approximately 15 medical service calls a month, according to GFD data, and an average response time of 5 minutes and 30 seconds – well above the department’s self-established 5-minute goal.
“I live in the Northwest quadrant, so I know how much this area is growing and how concerned my neighbors are with timely response times,” said GFD Capt. Gil Horta, a 23-year veteran of the GFD who on Thursday was helping put finishing touches on Sunrise Station’s temporary trailer. “This is an exciting time for the department and for residents of the Northwest quad.”
The GFD was supposed to begin operating from the $12,000 used mobile home in July, but delays purchasing the trailer and upgrading the site stalled the station’s opening.
Due to budget constraints resulting from the city’s increasingly burdened General Fund, full staffing for the new station has not yet been approved by the city, and neither fire or city officials are giving a time frame when that may change.
Gilroy’s General Fund money, which pays for fire services, is projected to hover around $31 million next year, but due to the recent economic doldrums the fund’s reserves which swelled to $24 million two years ago will be drained by late decade, barring an economic turnaround.
Annual payroll for Sunrise’s two-person crews will cost the General Fund $862,622 in salary and benefits next year, according to the GFD. To fully staff Sunrise, a total of nine new firefighters will have to be hired, Clet said.
Staffing issues aside, area residents are welcoming the new station and improved response times.
O’Toole Court resident Melba McMichael is happy to have another team of highly-trained paramedics close by – like the ones who saved her life two months ago.
McMichael, 80, suffered a major heart attack at her home on May 29. When firefighters from the Las Animas Fire Station arrived at her home six minutes later, she was unconscious and quickly flatlined. The team of GFD firefighter/paramedics were able to use a defibrillator to revive McMichael and prevent major brain or heart damage.
A week later McMichael walked out of the hospital.
“I know people complain about taxes that are used for the fire department,” McMichael said Thursday. “But believe me, when you need them in a hurry you’re thankful they’re there.”
McMichael’s home is near the coverage-area border between the Las Animas fire station and the new Sunrise station, and she says knowing another medical crew is watching over the city makes her feel more comfortable.
“I know what a difference time makes in a situation like mine,” she said. “It makes me feel great to know others in my situation will have a better chance of surviving now. … I’m feeling great and really enjoying life.”
By September, the GFD hopes to house a $268,000 Supplemental Transport Ambulance Resources vehicle, or STAR car, at the station. The STAR car is a specially designed heavy-duty rescue ambulance that carries an assortment of fire-fighting tools and rescue equipment.
“We will add a lot to the city’s coverage the next month, and even more when we get the (STAR Car),” said GFD Capt. Ed Bozzo, who is overseeing the construction of the new station.
Bozzo said the fire department will add several coats of paint and other cosmetic improvements to the temporary Sunrise station this weekend.
“I’m sorry it’s taken so long,” Mayor Tom Springer said. “But the fact that we finally have a third fire station is fantastic.”
