Salinas Fire Department details master plan, Station 1 renovation and SAFER grant hires

Fire Chief Sam Klimick told legislative partners that Salinas completed a department master planning process that identified infrastructure, response time and resiliency needs tied to projected city growth.

Klimick said an approximately $6,000,000 renovation of Fire Station 1 is underway to improve response capability and firefighter safety. He reported that the department received about $4,700,000 through a SAFER grant, which funded nine firefighter hires and helped the city reach an academy class that yielded 17 on‑street positions; the chief said most hires were local.

The master plan, Klimick said, prioritizes improving response times as the city grows and noted that response times already “are suffering far beyond the national standard” in some northern areas. The plan contemplates building Fire Station 7 in the north to serve future growth areas and includes options to relocate older stations built in the 1950s.

Klimick also described Station 7 as a potential community resource with space for an emergency operations center, standalone radio resources and a site that could support broader emergency medical and ambulance initiatives if the city’s responsibilities expand.

The chief urged continued preservation of federal grants — FEMA Assistance to Firefighters, SAFER, Urban Area Security Initiative and state homeland security grants — saying they fund critical high‑cost items. He asked legislative partners to review and protect those streams.

Why it matters: the plan ties capital and staffing investments to expected housing and commercial growth; if grants are reduced, the department said it risks delaying facility upgrades and staffing improvements that aim to reduce response times.

No formal council decisions were made at the briefing; the chief described priorities and requested partners’ support for grant programs and resiliency planning.