SOLANA BEACH — The fire departments in Del Mar and Solana Beach are analyzing new options for how to manage their fire services going forward, as the Encinitas Fire Department prepares to exit a cooperative fire management services agreement between the three cities.
The fire departments in Encinitas, Solana Beach and Del Mar have been in a cooperative management agreement since 2009, under a model that consolidates executive fire management and establishes cost-sharing among the three jurisdictions.
Encinitas Fire announced its plans to withdraw from the agreement earlier this year, with city leaders confirming that the department plans to transition out of the cooperative model by the end of March 2026.
This transition means Encinitas will no longer provide funding or administrative staff to support shared fire services with the other two cities. Leaders in Solana Beach and Del Mar have said that they are committed to maintaining high service levels for the community, as well as supporting their personnel.
At a Sept. 24 City Council meeting, Solana Beach City Manager Alyssa Muto said the city and the fire department have had multiple internal discussions, and that the fire governance board — which includes representatives from all three cities — has been meeting regularly to get things ready for the transition. This includes analyzing contracts and programs handled by Encinitas that will need to be transferred to the other two cities.
“We’ve done a lot since that notice earlier this year from Encinitas,” Muto said.
Both Solana Beach and Del Mar are exploring various options for future fire management. In Solana Beach, Muto said these options could include:
- Staying as a single-station fire department,
- Forming another cooperative agreement with Del Mar Fire,
- Contracting for management and administrative services with another entity or an established fire department,
- Integrating the Solana Beach Fire Department into another existing fire department.
The City Council will be asked to review more specific options at future meetings, Muto said. Solana Beach may also engage a third-party consultant to help evaluate potential options.
To maintain flexibility, both cities have also indicated that they may exit the existing cooperative agreement in early 2026.
Solana Beach leaders stated that, although there are still some unknowns, they are working to ensure the city has all the necessary support. Additionally, neither city will lose any of its own fire personnel or equipment as a result of this transition.
“We’ve heard a lot of inquiries of, ‘Are we going to be okay?’ We are definitely gooing to be okay,” Solana Beach Mayor Lesa Heebner said. “I’m absolutely in favor of you continuing to explore all feasible options, and bring back your findings to us.”
Shared costs for each city within the cooperative agreement are calculated based on population, staffing, geographic area and the number of service calls.
Encinitas has historically covered the majority of the shared costs under the cooperative agreement — around 69% — and all 10 of the shared fire management staff are Encinitas employees. These include the positions of fire chief, administrative fire captain, fire marshal, senior deputy fire marshal, and management analyst.
The Encinitas Fire Department said that, despite the resources invested in the cooperative management model, they are limited in their operational control and need to become an independent fire department to adequately serve their residents.
Other Solana Beach councilmembers said they are hopeful for a good outcome and thanked city staff for their work.
“I’m hopeful there’s a silver lining to all of this,” said Councilwoman Kristi Becker. “We weren’t expecting it, but you guys jumped on board, and we’re going to find something really great for our city.”
Del Mar has nine fire personnel, and Solana Beach has 18, both cities with one fire station each.
For the 2024-25 fiscal year, Solana Beach leaders budgeted around $584,000 for the cooperative agreement out of the city’s overall $6.59 million fire department budget.
Del Mar budgeted $3.1 million for its fire department this fiscal year, with $350,000 allocated toward the cooperative agreement.
The Del Mar City Council was scheduled to have a fire services discussion on Sept. 22 similar to that of Solana Beach, but they opted to move the item to the consent agenda and did not hold a discussion.
“Maintaining a high level of service, timely response, and readiness for wildfires are essential factors under consideration, along with ensuring the long-term financial viability of services to be provided,” a Del Mar staff report reads.
