Perris fire chief outlines rising calls, South Perris station plans and $1.8 million apparatus need

Division Chief Mark Scovell, who oversees fire services contracted to the City of Perris, told city officials that rising call volumes are straining the department and driving plans for new stations and equipment. "A year, we run about 9,568 calls, and that was just last year for 2024," Scovell said, and added that calls have averaged about a 4% increase over the last five years.

Scovell said last year’s call volume rose about 10%, a jump that "creates an increase in call volume with a lack of apparatus" and leads to longer estimated times of arrival. "Everybody wants the fire department there within 5 minutes, and sometimes we're there in 6, 7 minutes because we gotta get the next station down because the station's so busy," he said. To mitigate delays, the department has "placed those squads in service," which Scovell said has helped "overcome that quite quite drastically."

The city is moving forward with a planned South Perris Fire Station, which Scovell said is currently in the design phase. Construction is hoped to begin in the late first quarter of next year. Looking farther ahead, Scovell described a five- to ten-year strategic plan that calls for an additional station on Perris’s east side to keep up with development and protect future residents.

Scovell provided cost context for the capital need: "That apparatus runs about $1,800,000 per apparatus," and he said a frontline apparatus typically lasts about 10 years before moving to reserve status for another roughly 10 years. He described rescue-equipment obsolescence as similar to other technology life cycles, saying equipment "goes out of compliance after 10 years," which contributes to continual fiscal pressure on the city.

Scovell gave basic service and coverage figures: Perris has about 82,000 residents, operates two fire stations now, and has a third station under development. He warned that without the financial ability to add a fourth station in the future, the city would face extended ETAs for emergency calls as it grows.

No formal vote or fiscal decision was recorded in the presentation; Scovell’s remarks described operational needs, a capital project timeline and equipment lifecycle that will likely inform future budget and planning decisions.