With this new facility, we’re going to be able to have an increase in (fire department) employees. Obviously, the population is growing, so we need to grow with it.
The city of San Juan broke ground for what will be a new and improved fire station.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Thursday, Feb. 16 where the former fire station stood for over 50 years at 706 S. Nebraska Ave. in San Juan.
“It’s going to be located where our previous fire station was at,” Mayor Mario Garza said. “What they did was they went in and demolished the old building, and they’re going to build a brand new facility there for our fire department.”
Garza said that the continued growth of the city made the decision to upgrade the fire station a priority for the city.
“We’re a population a little under 40,000,” Garza said. “With this new facility, we’re going to be able to have an increase in (fire department) employees. Obviously, the population is growing, so we need to grow with it.”
The new 11,200-square-foot facility will cost $3.6 million. It will feature four bay, conference rooms, classrooms, dormitories, and a reception area.
“It’s going to be very well equipped,” City Manager Benjamin Arjona said. “It’s going to be state of the art. It’s going to be a nice facility — much better to serve the people. This is not just going to be a bay area where people have to go in through the bay to ask for information. It will have several office spaces for the chief and assistant chiefs, and for the lieutenants, a break room obviously, a kitchen area, and conference area.”
“It’s going to be a big improvement going from what we had to what we are going to be having,” he added.
Both the city manager and the mayor said that the main purpose for the upgraded fire station was to improve accessibility and meet the needs for the growing community, while also serving the needs of fire department employees.
“It will be more accessible-friendly to the people that come over and ask for information from the fire department,” Arjona said.
ERO Architects and NM Contracting LLC are undertaking the design and construction of the new fire station, which is anticipated to be completed by spring of next year.
“It means a lot to the community,” Garza said. “Like I mentioned earlier, we need to grow with the population. We’re going to have a lot more first responders going out and accessing any calls that we need. We’ll be very stocked with employees, and we’re ready to serve the community.”
