San Luis Obispo is planning to add a new fire station to help meet emergency response time goals as call volumes continue to climb.
Interim Fire Chief Randy Harris presented the department's 2025 Annual Report to the City Council Tuesday night, highlighting both the department's progress and the challenges ahead.
"The report was well received," Harris said. "The trend in our stats has been that we are getting a little bit busy with call volume."
The department handled 7,344 emergency calls in 2025, a slight increase from 7,079 calls in 2024. About 66% of those calls were for emergency medical services.
"Our call increase was generally EMS based," Harris said. "Our county is challenged in getting primary care physicians, so a lot of times people end up calling 911."
The department has response time goals that call for reaching 90% of all light-and-siren calls within four minutes. In 2025, the department met that standard only 60% of the time.
"It really comes down to station placement and making sure that we have the right stations and crews in place for the forecast emergency," he said.
A new fire station is in the planning stages near the Avila Ranch housing development, just south of Tank Farm Road on the south end of the city. The station would be staffed with three personnel and equipped with an engine and a service vehicle.
"That station will be staffed with three personnel and we'll be able to put an engine and service down there, and that'll help the whole south end of town with our response times," Harris said.
Residents in the Avila Ranch development say they welcome the news.
"I think that would be great, considering that we are exploding in population here and how many houses are being built," said Rose Russo, an Avila Ranch resident.
The new station is expected to be operational in mid 2028. When it opens, the department will need to add approximately $2 million to its annual budget to cover staffing costs. Harris says that is why the department is keeping its budget flat for the 2026 fiscal year, holding steady now to prepare for the larger investment ahead.
"The budget going forward is fairly neutral," Harris said. "The council asked that we maintain a neutral budget in plans for our staffing coming on board in 2028."
The department's current budget is just under $19 million, with about 93% of that going toward staffing costs.
