Following voter approval of a $7 million bond last November, the Keyes Fire Protection District is advancing plans to build its new and modern fire station.
Keyes Fire Chief Royjindar Singh said the district has sought Requests for Proposals (RFPs) which are due July 7 with the board reviewing them on July 9.
Once the architect is hired the design phase will begin.
“The goal would be by spring or early summer of 2026 to actually start construction,” said Singh. “It has taken a little bit longer. I thought the RFP stuff would be a lot faster.”
The district has been working with an architect which has pledged, if selected, to get plans completed and approved in six months. “But if we get a different architect they’re saying about six to nine months to get final plans ready,” Singh added.
A preliminary station design shows an estimated cost of between $5.9 million to $6.4 million. The new station will be constructed in the large vacant parcel adjacent to the old station.
A two-thirds majority voter approval margin (66.6 percent plus one) was required for passage of the bond but Measure H found 81.94 percent approval with 18.06 percent voting against it. Keyes property owners will see an estimated assessment at a rate of $29 per $100,000 of assessed value per year, with the average property owner paying approximately $120 extra per year to pay off the bond.
Chief Singh said the current Keyes Fire Station was built in the early 1960s and is inadequate to serve the growing and modern public safety needs of the Keyes area. While the station may look nice, Singh said it is antiquated and undersized.
“In one of our engine bays you can see literally the back bumper has to touch the back wall so the front door can close – that’s how tight it is,” said Singh.
The other engine, if not weighted down with 1,000 gallons of water in its tank, cannot be rolled into the station because it’s too high to go through the doors.
The cramped station also has no space for the storage or cleaning of personal protection gear such as fire turnouts, boots and gloves.
The station was built with no sleeping quarters since in those days a traditional volunteer fire department had firefighters respond to the station when a call for service came in. Now Keyes has 20 firefighters in its department who work shifts of 12, 24, or 48 hours and who need sleeping quarters. Currently overnight firefighters sleep in a makeshift dorm created from building a wall in the dayroom, which is shared between males and females.
“While we are a volunteer department, our station is staffed full-time like a paid department.”
The station’s plumbing system is outdated and the electrical system cannot be modified for modern equipment, such as station lighting, power outlets, computers and appliances.
Another drawback is that the station does not meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.
