Council gives consensus to study new West-of-101 fire station, relocate Station 154 and begin designs for other fire projects

Glendale Fire Chief Ryan Freeberg and city engineering staff walked the City Council through site analyses, operational modeling and preliminary cost implications for three fire‑station projects in the city’s approved capital improvement program during a Oct. 14 council workshop. Council provided consensus direction to further study a city‑owned 8‑acre site at the northwest corner of New River and Glendale Avenue for a proposed Fire Station 1510, to pursue planning for relocating Fire Station 154 to Mission Park pending coordination with Phoenix, and to begin design work on other station improvements consistent with the CIP schedule.

Chief Freeberg said the recommendation to continue study of the New River/Glendale site (identified in the workshop materials as the recommended Site 1) was driven by multiple operational factors: access to the Glendale Avenue thoroughfare for east–west travel, improved first‑due coverage for the Westgate entertainment district and reduced risk of creating a “border” station that primarily serves adjacent jurisdictions. The city owns the 8.2‑acre parcel, he said, and staff recommended focusing on the southern portion of the site for placement of the station.

“Getting access onto the main thoroughfare was a priority,” Freeberg said, describing polygon modeling used to test response coverage, overlaps with partner agencies and how a new station would “stitch” into the regional automatic‑aid dispatch model.

Staff presented incident and population…