Contra Costa Fire reopens Pinole Fire Station 74 after 12 years
PINOLE – After being closed for 12 years, Pinole Fire Station 74 is holding a grand reopening ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday.
The station technically reopened for business Tuesday. The station was closed in 2011 due to budget cuts. Funding will mostly be provided by Measure X, the county's most recent sales tax measure.
Contra Costa County Fire Protection District and the city of Pinole struck a deal last year for the district to provide fire and emergency services in the city, beginning this week. Pinole's other station, downtown's Station 73, is now also under Con Fire's care.
The Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) approved the contract unanimously in November. The county Board of Supervisors (acting as the fire district's board) and the Pinole City Council unanimously approved the deal in October.
Con Fire assumes responsibility for all firefighting staff, support staff, facilities and equipment for the city of 19,000 people. The contract went into effect Jan. 1 to allow two months of work getting the facility ready.
"Re-opening station 74 will enhance fire, rescue, and emergency medical services throughout West County, and it will be staffed by an engine crew operating both a standard structure fire engine and a specialized wildland fire engine," said Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, whose district 1 includes Pinole, in a statement. "My father died of cardiac arrest in 1987 after not getting medical care fast enough. I understand the importance of improving emergency response time since every minute can make the difference between life and death."
Con Fire said the benefits of the new arrangement will include more coordinated, cohesive and streamlined fire and emergency services. Another benefit will be better alignment of firefighting models across districts that could net both increased fire services and improved firefighter safety. The celebration and ribbon-cutting happens at 11 a.m. at the station, at 3700 Pinole Valley Road in Pinole. The event will be livestreamed on Con Fire's Facebook page, at facebook.com/contracostafire.