Modern Equipment Needs Modern Facilities

Today’s fire engines and emergency-response equipment are larger, heavier, and more technologically complex than the equipment these stations were built to support.

Maintaining that equipment requires adequate bay clearance, electrical capacity, ventilation, secure storage, and space where firefighters can inspect, clean, and service critical tools. Stations designed for an earlier generation of apparatus can make those routine tasks harder—or require equipment to be maintained elsewhere.

Modern fire apparatus operating out of old building hurts emergency response times.

The photograph shows the problem plainly: Richmond’s modern emergency equipment is being housed in a facility built around the needs and dimensions of another era.

 

When Richmond residents call 911, firefighters need equipment that is maintained, ready, and able to get out the door without avoidable obstacles. Station conditions that make it harder to house and maintain modern equipment can affect emergency response when every second matters.

Measure Q will help Richmond upgrade its fire stations so firefighters have the facilities they need to protect our community.