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Hemet outlines plan to add stations and squads as calls surge, estimates $20 million per new station
Summary
City staff recommended siting three new fire stations to reduce long response times in fast-growing parts of Hemet, noting the city is near 20,000 annual calls and that construction and staffing for a two-bay station could cost about $20 million and $2.5 million a year respectively.
Hemet officials on Feb. 10 presented a multi-year plan to relocate one existing fire station and add three new stations to address rising call volumes and prolonged response times in outlying areas.
Chief Webb told the City Council the department’s goal is “6 minutes and 30 seconds and 90% of the calls,” a target the department has not met since 2014. Webb said Hemet’s system averaged roughly 7 minutes, 34 seconds before the recent deployment of a squad unit, and that adding Squad 4 later in the year shaved about 24 seconds off systemwide response times.
The presentation identified two priority trouble spots: the 4 Seasons area, which Webb said has an average response time of about 10 minutes, 12 seconds, and the McSweeney area. Webb said those delays stem from distance to existing stations and frequent unavailability of the busiest units. He also…
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