Neighborhood Fire Stations and Support Facilities

Why do we need to strengthen, improve and rehabilitate neighborhood fire stations?

Fire stations operate and are staffed by firefighters 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is critical that our first responders are housed in safe and seismically sound facilities with the capacity to provide essential emergency response services.

Many of San Francisco’s 44 fire stations have structural and seismic deficiencies and are in need of upgrades and other health and safety improvements. Addressing these needs as soon as possible will reduce future costs and allow the department to provide more effective and efficient emergency response.
 
ESER 2020 will continue the work of the previous two bonds, ESER 2010 and ESER 2014, both of which passed with nearly 80 percent approval from San Francisco voters. The measure will renovate or replace the highest-priority fire stations to provide improved safety and seismic performance to meet essential facility standards and a healthy work environment for our firefighters.

ESER 2010 and 2014: Progress Made 

ESER 2010 and ESER 2014 identified improvements and seismic upgrades to all the Fire Department’s then-43 neighborhood fire stations, which are located in every district of San Francisco. Many improvements have been successfully implemented, and more are needed to bring all stations up to today’s standards. Under ESER 2010, the City was able to replace two seismically-deficient neighborhood fire stations – Fire Station No. 5 in the Western Addition and Fire Station No. 16 in Cow Hollow –with state-of-the-art facilities. A brand-new fire station, Fire Station No. 4, was also built as part of the Public Safety Building in Mission Bay, which helped increase the department’s response capabilities. 

Firefighter Training Facility 

The firefighter training facility is used for recruit training, as well as the regular in-service training for all existing employees.  It provides classroom instruction and specialized training, including for response to active shooters, confined and trench space rescues, water rescues, roof ventilation, emergency vehicle operations, wildland firefighting, elevator extrications and more to ensure maximum safety for San Francisco residents and visitors.

Why does it need to be replaced?

Plans are underway to close the old training facility on Treasure Island to make way for a development project.  Beyond the pending closure and physical size limitations, there have been changes in industry standards, best practices and state and federal training mandates; the current facilities do not adequately address the training needs of the department.  The Fire Department's other, smaller training facility in the Mission District cannot serve the department's training needs on its own.

What they're saying

"When a disaster strikes, our Firefighters need to be able to respond immediately. From my experience as a Firefighter and a Paramedic, I know first-hand how important it is to have the infrastructure and facilities that allow our First Responders to do their jobs. This Bond will provide the funding that we need to invest in public safety infrastructure and First Responder facilities."

- Jeanine Nicholson, Fire Chief, San Francisco Fire Department

Explore the other ESER 2020 Bond Components 

• Emergency Firefighting Water System
• 9-1-1 Call Center
• District Police Stations and Support Facilities
• Disaster Response Facilities

What is the ESER bond program?

Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response (ESER) is San Francisco's bond program to strategically address critical public safety needs in the City. The program identifies seismic improvements and upgrades to City-owned facilities that are needed to help safeguard San Francisco. Learn more here.