The Merced City Council this week unanimously approved a location for a new fire station in the Bellevue Ranch area – a sixth firehouse to help accommodate the city’s burgeoning growth.
Fire Station No. 56 at M Street and M Circle, just south of East Bellevue Road, will house additional engines and a new emergency operations center. It would also include a safety-themed park for community members.
The station is anticipated to cost $14 million, though the city still needs $5.3 million more. Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, D-Merced, contributed $4 million, and so did the city. In the next year, city officials will move forward with a design phase for the new fire station and identify more funding options.
The area the station will serve is one of the fastest-growing parts of the city. It’s just over a mile south of El Capitan High, an area that includes newer homes and communities built relatively recently.
The station is expected to result in faster response times.
“Although I’m very excited about the growth and the opportunity it’s going to bring to the community, it makes me a little nervous that we don’t have a fire station in that northern bit of town,” Fire Chief Casey Wilson said during Monday’s city council meeting.
No stations north of Yosemite Ave.
As Merced expands development, there is a growing need for more fire department resources. There are currently no fire stations north of Yosemite Avenue – meaning longer response times to some areas in the city.
The city is updating its General Plan to guide growth and land usage in the coming years. Such needs include zoo, airport, police and fire stations upgrades to name a few, City Manager Scott McBride previously told The FOCUS.
Land annexations are planned in the coming years to Merced. The city previously annexed UC Merced to the city limits in July 2024, which brought fire response to the campus.
The northern end of Bellevue Ranch is experiencing a response time gap from the fire department, Wilson said. The 2018 Merced Fire Department Standards set the standard for personnel to respond within four-to-six-minutes.
An emergency operations center will meet the growing demands of the department as well.
The fire department currently has two emergency operations centers, located at Station 51 and the Sam Pipes Room in the Merced Civic Center downtown. During a disaster, such as a flood, fire personnel operate from these facilities.
The department has outgrown both facilities, according to Wilson. It’s critical that the emergency operations center is not located downtown in case there is an emergency that disrupts the facility.
Once the new emergency operations center is developed, Wilson said, the department will likely keep one of the other locations as a secondary option.
More stations possibly on the horizon
In 2023, the state issued the Merced Fire Department a $9 million FEMA grant to expand staffing, Wilson said. The funds were used to staff 24 trained personnel who will work at the new station once it opens. Additional staff have been working throughout the department. Roles at the fire department include firefighters, engineers and captains.
Fire department officials also envision the lot having a public-safety themed park. It would include a splash pad and a walking path.
Future stations include one in southeast Merced or relocation of Fire Station No. 53, which is located at 800 Loughborough Dr. near the Marketplace at Merced. The city also is considering Fire Station No. 57 next, which would primarily respond to UC Merced.