The City Council decision to engage in a land swap with a southwest Manteca developer allows the city to secure the best strategic location for their sixth station targeted for completion in 2028.
It will mean the significant city investment will construct a fire station that is:
*Centralized enough in the rapidly growing area to bring the maximum number of households under the city’s targeted 6 minute and 20 second response time from when a 9-1-1 call is dispatched to firefighters arriving on scene.
*Large enough for future expansion for possible training facilities or working with Manteca District Ambulance to locate a substation.
*Close to an arterial instead of being in the middle of a neighborhood.
*Located next to a future elementary campus.
The site on Joshua Street (what western Atherton Drive becomes when it crosses McKinley Avenue) at Woodward Avenue puts responding units immediately onto two of the three key arterials in southwest Manteca and within two intersections of the third, McKinley Avenue.
The optimum location was determined on running travel time scenarios that factor in right turns, left runs, roundabouts, and traffic signals.
It puts the most current — and planned — homes in southwest Manteca within 1.5 miles.
Currently, it takes an average of 7 minutes and 19 seconds from dispatch to arrival on scene with the longest coming in at around 8 minutes and 56 seconds.
The city has land adjacent to the McKinley Avenue/120 Bypass interchange that was not needed for that project.
It was too far north for an efficient location to reach the most households.
That location is also problematic as it is on top of freeway ramps that are destined to become more congested as Manteca grows. As such, the location could have actually impeded overall response times, even to those homes that would be nearby.
The land being swapped is a surplus acre that Manteca Unified had at the Tara Park school site the district is transferring to the city.
Language in an agreement between the city and school district for the transfer indicates the fire department will work with Manteca Unified to develop and implement an education program for students who will be attending the school.
MUSD Assistant Superintendent Victoria Brunn in November said it is an ideal way to help students “learn about” what those who serve as firefighters do. The district hopes to also program career exploration that would be easy to do given the proximity of the station.
The parcel in question is 58 feet wide making it impractical for either building classrooms or developing playing fields for the school.
Mayor Gary Singh praised the deal allowing the fire station to be located on the parcel as another example of the school district and city working together for the best interests of the community and taxpayers.
The district is in the process of the architectural planning stages for a 1,000-student TK-8 campus on the remaining 21 acres.
Manteca has already accepted a federal grant to help cover part of the cost of hiring nine more firefighters that will ultimately will be assigned to an engine company housed at the new station.
The firefighters need to be hired in the coming months under terms of the grant.
They will initially be assigned to a second fire company that will be located at the Union Road station, the closest currently to southwest Manteca.
The station was built to house personnel for two fire companies of three firefighters on each for 24/7 staffing.
The Union Road station is the busiest in the city based on call volume.
There are also more than 2,500 households outside of the targeted response time in southwest Manteca.
Until the sixth station is built, two engine companies running out of Union Road will help improve response times somewhat.
That’s because if the Union Road engine company is already on a call when an emergency occurs, an available engine from elsewhere in Manteca — or even Lathrop Fire — would have to respond.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
