City staff outline three-phase fire station relocation plan to expand 4-minute coverage; council urges more community engagement

City fire officials presented a three-phase plan Aug. 19 to relocate and modernize aging fire stations with the goal of expanding the portion of city addresses reachable within four minutes.

Interim Fire Chief Chad Longstaff and Deputy Chief Anthony Stanford led the presentation, which drew on the 2021 Fire Commission report, subsequent engineering assessments and National Fire Protection Association guidance. Longstaff said several station buildings date to the 1930s and 1940s and have limited living and restroom space. "Station 1 was built in 1940, Station 6 in 1937, and Station 11 in 1972," Longstaff said, noting inadequate facilities for female firefighters and other facility deficiencies.

Staff proposed three phases: relocate Station 1 to city-owned property at Sixth and Governor's Place (already acquired for a fire station); relocate Station 11 to the vicinity of Northwest Lyman and Topeka Boulevard; and relocate Station 6 to the Oakland/Billard Park area. City GIS analysis presented by staff estimated the phased plan would increase the share of city addresses reachable within a four-minute drive to about 77.5 percent (42,161 addresses), an increase of approximately 2,696 addresses compared with current coverage.

Staff gave more detailed figures for each phase. Phase 1 (Station 1 relocation) was shown to place 40,770 addresses within four minutes (roughly 74.9 percent coverage) and would add about 1,312 addresses; however staff noted some existing addresses previously served by Station 1 would see longer times (the presentation cited a figure of about 5 minutes, 33 seconds for portions of the station—s current area). Phase 2 (Station 11 relocation) showed 41,985 addresses within four minutes and an incremental improvement over Phase 1 of about 1,200 addresses; staff reported 57 percent of addresses in the unduplicated service area would be below four minutes while 43 percent would see a modest increase to roughly 4:56. Phase 3 (Station 6 relocation) was intended to put all of Oakland within a four-minute response time and to add the remaining addresses to reach the 77.5 percent citywide benchmark.

Fire staff said the plan would modernize facilities, provide separate female facilities in multiple stations and could improve the city's ISO (Insurance Services Office) rating; staff said the city—s ISO rating improved to a 2 and the plan could support further improvement toward a rating of 1. The presentation also noted operational challenges, including temporary coverage reductions linked to Polk-Quincy viaduct construction and the need to phase work carefully to avoid simultaneous gaps in coverage.

Councilmembers pressed staff on community engagement and costs. Deputy Chief Stanford supplied a figure for recent improvements to Station 6: about $424,718.72 in renovations over the last three years, including lighting, HVAC, vehicle exhaust upgrades and other work. Councilmember Valdivia Acala and others said district residents and neighborhood associations had not been sufficiently engaged and asked that staff present the plan to neighborhood groups and allow time for local input. Council members also asked for data showing call hot spots, per-station call volumes and a history of renovations at stations such as Station 10.

Several councilmembers suggested broader funding options, including consideration of a countywide sales tax renewal in the 2028 timeframe to fund multiple stations and other infrastructure rather than piecemeal bonding. Staff said the plan represents a five- to 15-year strategy and that the council would see additional details and opportunities for public input in subsequent meetings. No action was taken; the item was presented for discussion with possible future action.