The fire chief said that during the replacement of Fire Station No. 1, the timeline of which is unclear at this point, the firefighters will be housed in some sort of modular housing.
"I've been actively working on it," said Hollister Fire Chief Fred Cheshire. "We are temporarily going to take residence in a modular unit."
A $20 million bond issuance, which will pay for the replacement of Fire Station No. 1 and landscaping improvements on the city's western gateway, was approved in June. City officials have noted the station at Fifth and Sally streets - the replacement of which will cost around $5 million - has structural deficiencies and other problems that necessitate the project.
Fire officials have been meeting with the architect and are trying to establish the project summary, which would include how much space the building will have, how many firefighters it could house, how much space there will be for firefighting equipment and other details. When those specifications are decided upon, the project could move on with seismic testing and demolition of the current station.
Cheshire said the project could take up to 18 months, but it is unclear when the groundbreaking might take place.
"I don't have a timeline on that," he said.
During the demolition and rebuild, company units normally housed at station No. 1 will be moved to the modular trailer, while the truck companies will be moved to Fire Station No. 2. Some of the personnel will also go with the trucks to the Union Road location. Cheshire said this is to "make sure" there is adequate fire coverage for all parts of the city.
"We want to make sure we can respond to District 1," he said. "We've got the core of downtown, the westside and the north end of town. We still maintain a good response time to those areas."
For the full story, see the Free Lance on Tuesday.
Colin McConville Colin McConville is a reporter with the Hollister Free Lance. You can reach him by email or at (831) 637-5566.
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