‘A part of the community’: Visalia Fire welcomes new station

VISALIA, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – Following the grand opening of a new fire station in the City of Visalia, firefighters say it is an opportunity to connect with the community they serve.

On Tuesday, Visalia firefighters officially welcomed Fire Station 56 located near Lovers Lane and Tulare Avenue to the city.

The building is approximately 6,800 square feet and it will house nine firefighters in total, split between three shifts. Visalia Fire says thanks to funding from Measure N, the crew was able to move from the Cal Fire campus up the road into this new building.

Visalia Fire Chief Dan Griswald says the location of the station was brought to fruition by putting the needs of the community first.

“You want to try to predict what is this city going to ask of this fire station for the life of this station. What services are they gonna need, how many people is it gonna need to hold, and all those types of things,” Griswald said.

Griswald says Fire Station 56 will serve the community of east Visalia for the next 40 to 50 years.

“When you open a new fire station you really need to be strategic of where you’re placing it. You have to forecast where your city is growing, where the need is and are you gonna create holes if you move from where you currently are to where you are going to be moving,” he said.

Visalia Fire actively seeks to engage and connect with the communities they serve.

“Your firefighters and fire stations are real pieces within a community and we want to be a part of the community. We want to engage with our citizens outside of 9-1-1. Without them having to call 9-1-1 we want you to benefit from your fire department,” Griswald said.

Visalia Fire says with the completion of this project opens the door for another one. Currently, they are in the works of designing to replace Downtown Visalia’s Fire Station 51.

With the opening of Fire Station 56, the fire chief reminds the community there is always an open invitation to stop by and say hi.

“So if you’re curious what this station or any of our other stations look like, ring on the doorbell, knock on the door. If our crews are available and aren’t busy or aren’t out at a call, I’m sure they’d be happy to give you a tour and answer a few questions.”

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