It was more than just a ceremonial turning of dirt on Wednesday marking the ground breaking of Manteca’s sixth fire station.

Once the dirt tossed by Mayor Gary Singh, Fire Chief Steve Isalas, City Manager Toni Lundgren, and other city officials hit the ground, the countdown started to a safer city for all.

It means roughly two years from now more than 3,000 households in southwest Manteca will be less than five minutes from help in a medical emergency or fire where seconds count in securing the best possible outcome.

And in some cases where tract homes are located where a 9-1-1 call now takes the nearest firefighters 12 minutes to get there once the engine rolls out of a station, the response time will be slashed by two-thirds.

That will bring more than 10,000 Manteca residents with a targeted five minute response time.

And as a footnote to critics of the City Council that have unleashed campaign rhetoric on social media that the incumbents seeking re-election on Nov. 3 are wasting tax dollars as they believe the new station is not needed, response times will also improve else where once Manteca’s sixth engine company is housed at a new station on Joshua Street north of Woodward Avenue.

That’s because it means other engines stationed throughout the city are less likely needed to respond out of assigned coverage areas, response times will be lower overall when a 9-1-1 call is made in older neighborhoods miles away from the sixth fire station.

“Every neighborhood we protect (will benefit),” Chief Isalas said of the building of the sixth station, noting it will significantly enhance the department’s resiliency.

Mayor Singh told the gathering of almost 100 at Wednesday’s ground breaking of the station that it is more than a building. It’s about the safety of all Manteca residents.

Singh noted never before in Manteca’s 108-year history has there been two major public safety facilities move forward at the same time. A week prior, Manteca official broke ground on the new police station in the 600 block of South Main Street.

The mayor credited that to Measure Q coupled with city staff and elected officials working in concert to move Manteca forward after 25 years of misfires.

“These are not just projects on paper anymore,” Singh said as he pointed to the impacts the Measure Q sales tax is having when it comes to improving public safety, roads, and delivering amenities.

The Measure Q sales tax has already allowed the city to hire nine new firefighters to staff a sixth engine company 24/7 in May.

That engine — housed with the aerial company at the Union Road station — is helping handle calls in southwest Manteca. But the fact the engine isn’t houses at a station more strategically placed means 12 minute response times aren’t unusual.

Measure Q has also made it possible for Manteca to replace several aging frontline engines that had developed problematic issues such as the ignition not turning over to respond to an emergency call with newer ones.

Thanks to fire command staff finding an engine another agency could not afford to complete the purchase of as well as locating a department willing to sell an older frontline engine in much better condition than the one it replaced in Manteca, the city didn’t have to wait the typical three years plus to take delivery of an engine once it is ordered.

Lundgren made it clear why the city is able to proceed with the 7,400 square-foot station.

“Most importantly this project would not have been possible without — ba rump ba bum bum – Measure Q,” Lundgren said.

The tax measure is helping cover the funding gap not covered by growth fees to build the fire station and police station. It is being wedded with growth fees that state law restricts from picking up 100 percent of the cost and instead prorate fees to what a new hone’s share is.

The city manager also noted the key roles Manteca Unified as well as developer Pete Dana along with Ron Chiek played making it possible for the city to secure the optimum parcel for a southwest Manteca fire station.

The fire station will be joined next door by a 1,000 student elementary campus that is targeted to break ground in 2027.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com