OCEANSIDE — After years of planning, a new fire station has officially opened in the city’s South Morro Hills area.
Elected leaders representing the city and region celebrated the grand opening of Fire Station 9 alongside Oceanside Fire Department leaders and city staff on Dec. 15.
Located at 5590 Giovanni Way, just off North River Road, the new fire station houses a Type 6 fire engine and is initially staffed with one fire captain and one firefighter/paramedic.
The station will primarily serve North River Farms, a large residential development currently under construction, as well as nearby farms and longstanding residential communities in South Morro Hills.
Lennar Homes, the North River Farms developer, constructed and fully funded the fire station, according to Division Chief Blake Dorse. Ongoing staffing costs are partially funded through a community facilities district paid by future residents, along with a portion of the property and sales tax revenue generated by the project.
During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, leaders highlighted the significance of opening the station before families move into the 395 new homes currently under construction.
“This is the way it’s supposed to be done. For once, we have communities being built, but we are putting the infrastructure that is needed to have communities around instead of building homes and then not having it,” said Assemblymember Laurie Davies (R-Laguna Niguel), who represents the 74th District. “You are a model to all the other areas.”
The station is also expected to improve response times in the city’s rural northeast, which has long posed challenges for the fire department.
“This area has challenged us with longer response times than we would ever want,” Fire Chief David Parsons said. “It’s hard to mention, but the two stations closest to here have our slowest response times — though not through lack of effort, but through resource allocation.
“Emergencies don’t wait, and neither should help,” Parsons continued. “Opening this station means faster response, closer service, and a safer community for people who live, work and visit here every day.”
Councilmember Rick Robinson, who served as the city’s fire chief when the project began, said Fire Station 9 joins Fire Station 5 as the second station serving areas north of the San Luis Rey River. Previously, the city often relied on backup from stations several miles away, including Camp Pendleton, Fallbrook and Bonsall.
“While (Fire Station) 9 opens with equipment and personnel suitable to meet current demands, future growth has been anticipated, and the station has been built to accommodate that growth,” Robinson said. “Getting that first resource on scene in the shortest amount of time possible is a critical factor in changing outcomes.
“Getting water within a fire’s initial stage of development may be the difference in the loss of a home or loss of hundreds of acres of valuable watershed,” he continued. “The arrival of a paramedic three to five minutes from the onset of chest pain is often the difference in survival rates of cardiac patients.”
Robinson said the fire department has dramatically improved its service levels over the years — something he said would not have been possible without the new station. For the former fire official, the benefits of the fire station and the housing development outweighed potential negative impacts.
“To those who objected this development, I surely hope that you may never need the services provided by Fire Station 9, but should you need them, you’re just a 9-1-1 call away from some of the best trained, bravest and hardest working public servants I have ever had the privilege to work with and know,” Robinson said.
The North River Farms project was highly controversial when it was first proposed.
The Oceanside City Council narrowly approved the project in late 2019, allowing 585 homes on 214 acres. Residents later placed a referendum on the 2020 ballot that would have given voters final approval of the project, which was overwhelmingly rejected by about two-thirds of voters.
In 2021, a judge declared the referendum void under the Housing Crisis Act. After the decision was appealed, the parties entered settlement negotiations that ultimately resulted in a nearly 200-home reduction and additional preserved land.
Mayor Esther Sanchez was among the council members who voted against the project.
“Once something is built, of course you have to be able to provide public safety to that community. The number one priority for any city is to ensure the public safety of its residents,” Sanchez said. “Here we are, and the needs are going to be varied, with residential and also farmland … this is truly a challenge for this fire station.”
Sanchez also praised the barn-like design of the station, noting it reflects the area’s agricultural character.
While Fire Station 9 expands the department’s reach, officials said more stations are still needed.
Studies indicate the city should have 10-12 fire stations to adequately serve its population and geographic boundaries.
“Station 10 is a twinkle in our eye,” Parsons said, noting it would likely be located somewhere along state Route 76 and Rancho del Oro. The challenge, he said, is identifying a suitable site in an area that is largely built out.
The city is also working to relocate Fire Station 8, currently housed in a commercial building at 1935 Avenida del Oro, to a site in the Pacific Coast Business Park at 1282 Rocky Point Drive, near Old Grove Road and College Boulevard.
While construction of the new Fire Station 8 has been approved, the city still must secure funding for the project.
