Burlingame Receives Fire Merger Update

Burlingame residents received an update this week on the . Central County Fire Department (CCFD) Chief Don Dornell returned to the council this week to discuss program progress and next steps.

The merge called for consolidation of administration services between the Central County Fire Department—which serves Burlingame and Hillsborough—and the Millbrae and San Bruno fire departments. The program also plans for a temporary station constructed in Burlingame Hills between station 38 in Millbrae and station 35 in Burlingame for shared use. The Millbrae and Burlingame fire stations would be closed under the merge.

“The purpose is to demonstration to our community that we can consolidate two fire stations to a better location,” said Dornell, emphasizing the project will cut costs without negative impacts to response time or safety. “We still project to fund this through savings of the stations we’re going to close.”

According to a staff report, the temporary station is expected to result in $450,000 annual savings to the CCFD. However, these savings will initially be offset by the $588,800 one-time costs associated with the temporary station, of which Burlingame owes $176,640. This cost is down from the originally estimated $800,000 one-time cost.

The station site is located on Skyline Boulevard in Burlingame. If the fire departments eventually undergo a full merge, a permanent fire station will be constructed at the same site. While the temporary nature of the station is reflected in the low $500,000 construction price tag, utilities and equipment brought in during this initial construction would be used for the permanent station, as well.

“This is a temporary structure,” Dornell said. “We want to demonstrated that this is a sound decision [and] want to use this site while another station is constructed.”

Dornell said they hope to begin construction on the temporary station this summer, with the project taking an estimated four months.

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