Indio, CA – A new fire station in north Indio officially opens today, but firefighters got to test out their new digs earlier this week during moving day.
During their move Tuesday from the North Jackson Street facility to the new state-of-the-art station at 42-990 Golf Center Parkway, firefighters responded to a paramedic call at the nearby Casablanca Mobile Home Park.
It took 30 seconds to get to the location as opposed to the average 2.5 or 3 minutes that call would require from the unit’s original station, Indio Fire Department Capt. Jon Chin said.
Chin and three other firefighters will be based at the new 7,300-square-foot facility, a dramatic improvement, firefighters said, from their former site — a 1,200-square-foot facility on Jackson Street north of Highway 111 that housed a single engine and three firefighters.
Bill Bennett, a Terra Lago development Realtor and homeowner who lives close to the fire station, said more surrounding residents will feel safe with the quicker response time.
“We are going to feel so much more secure,” he said. “The firefighters themselves are great, and just their presence is going to be very reassuring.”
The new station will house two engines, a spare paramedic ambulance and space for eight firefighters, said Jim McGough, Indio battalion chief.
It will also have three restrooms, including a handicapped-accessible facility, an office and an exercise room, McGough said.
It will include state-of-the art technology, such as an exhaust recovery system hose that attaches to the fire engine and limits the firefighters’ exposure to diesel exhaust, and a station printer that will automatically print out calls and their locations from the dispatch center.
Funds came from the city and Terra Lago development builders SunCal, which donated the 2-acre site to the city and contributed $1 million for the approximately $3.6 million project.
City officials had promised the community that the new fire station would happen, City Manager Glenn Southard said.
“This is good for the community and good for the fire station,” Southard said.
Construction began in May, McGough said.
Chin and his firefighters have been watching the construction since the groundbreaking.
“We’re just excited to be here, and it is one of those things that have been talked about for a long time,” he said. “It is nice to be involved and to finally see it happen.”
The North Jackson Street station will be closed, said Mark Wasserman, assistant to the city manager. The city will retain the building but has no plans for it yet.
The Indio Fire Department will celebrate the station’s opening May 5 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, tours and a luncheon, said Indio Fire Chief Raymond Paiz.
Story and photos by The Desert Sun
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