By Ryan Ginard | SDUN Reporter

The 60-year-old Hillcrest Fire Station #5 will be torn down and a new station will be built thanks to approximately $500,000 in funding recently allocated to the design phase of the project by the San Diego City Council.

The fire station, located on the corner of University Avenue and Ninth Street, has been in operation since 1951 and has suffered a number of ongoing structural issues over time including roof leaks and problems with the air conditioning.

Michelle Abella-Shon, Facilities Manager for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, said the plan for the station’s renovations also include the development of three additional bays fitted with exhaust emission systems on the existing property. The current station has two and a half bays with the exhaust emission systems.

Abella-Shon also explained the plan calls for 11 crew parking spaces that would be constructed on the existing property. There are currently five employees housed at the station, a four-person fire crew and a battalion chief. The plan accommodates future expansion to house two crews of four people.

San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Spokesperson Lee Swanson said he welcomed the new funding, especially considering Station #5 is the second busiest engine company in San Diego in terms of number of total calls received, he added.

Swanson explained that in the 2011 fiscal year, Station #5 responded to 3,685 calls. Of those, 2,933 were medical or rescue calls, 272 were fire calls and 480 were listed as other.

Swanson said, “The station will continue to house three vehicles including a single [fire] engine, SUV and brush engine but will be updated to be equipped and furnished the same as the other stations.”

The City Council opted to renovate the station as opposed to adopt recommendations from leading Fire and Emergency Services Consultant, Citygate Associates. Citygate’s recommendation called for 10 new fire stations across San Diego to reach acceptable response times. Though not rejecting the recommendations completely, City Council members determined it was more cost effective to renovate the station. The City Council is looking to upgrade stations across the City.

District Three Councilmember Todd Gloria pointed out that the only community feedback he received so far was from those anxious to get these upgrades underway.

Community input will also be sought for the overall design of the Hillcrest station, which will attempt to meet the needs of the station’s personnel and those of the local neighborhood. While an exact date has not been set, projects like this one are presented to the Uptown Planners Group as a part of their meetings and are open for public comment.

Gloria said, “It is important that the community remains well-protected by the fire-rescue crews. Fire Station #5 is very small and its maintenance and repair needs are extensive.”

With this half a million dollars in funding and having secured architect Rob Wellington Quigley for the project, the remaining funds needed for are expected to be available in the future so construction can begin.

“I anticipate construction funds to be secured of a future City infrastructure bond in the next few years” Gloria said.