San Francisco, CA— Mayor London N. Breed today joined City officials and community leaders to celebrate the opening of the newly retrofitted Fire Station No. 16, a voter-approved earthquake-safety project that bolsters the City’s resiliency.

The new fire station, located at 2251 Greenwich Street in the Cow Hollow neighborhood, is a seismically-safe structure designed to meet national accreditation standards and serve the needs of both the neighborhood and the City moving forward. The building was constructed with resilient life-safety systems and ADA accessibility features that will remain fully operational following an earthquake or other natural disaster.

“When the next major earthquake hits, our first responders need to be able to immediately get to work helping those who have been affected and restoring critical City services. We cannot risk damage to fire stations and other critical response locations,” said Mayor Breed. “The new Fire Station 16 is a perfect example of the investments the City has made in earthquake safety, and I look forward to working over the coming months to bring people together in support of a new earthquake safety bond to continue to prepare San Francisco for the next major disaster.”

The fire station has a rotating crew of 33 first responders, with nine firefighters on duty at any given time. The two-story, 10,870-square-foot building includes a mezzanine level and rooftop access, and is additionally equipped with one engine truck and one ladder truck to help safeguard San Francisco. The old station at the site did not meet modern building codes and first-responder needs.

“We are very excited to open Station 16,” said Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White. “With this new, state-of-the-art facility, the dedicated men and women of the San Francisco Fire Department will be better equipped to serve the surrounding communities during times of crisis and emergency.”

“As a Cow Hollow resident and mother of two children, I’m sure I speak for the community when I say how excited I am to have a state-of-the-art fire station right in my neighborhood,” added District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani.

The Fire Station No. 16 replacement project was funded by the Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response (ESER) Bond Program, an initiative to strengthen earthquake safety and emergency response resiliency through capital improvements on critical infrastructure, including fire, police and ambulance facilities and the emergency firefighting water system. San Francisco voters overwhelmingly approved the first $412 million ESER Bond in 2010 and the second $400 million ESER Bond in 2014.

San Francisco Public Works designed and managed construction of the new facility for the San Francisco Fire Department and hired Roebuck Construction, a San Francisco-based contracting firm, as the general contractor for the project. It was designed to achieve LEED Gold certification.

The $14.2 million project was on budget and exceeded its local hiring requirement of 30 percent. In collaboration with the CityBuild program, spearheaded by the City’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, the Fire Station No. 16 replacement project provided more than 15,000 working hours to San Francisco residents, roughly 35 percent of total workforce hours.

“Public Works takes great pride in overseeing some of the City’s most crucial capital improvement projects,” said Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru. “With the support from San Francisco voters, we can continue our work of delivering world-class facilities to our many diverse neighborhoods.”

The Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response Bond Program is a component of the City’s Ten-Year Capital Plan – a blueprint prioritizing key capital projects that impact public safety. The proposed updated G.O. Bond schedule has moved up plans for an Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response (ESER) Bond to pay for seismic retrofitting and resiliency for critical public safety infrastructure to 2019, responding to critical seismic risks and needs in first responder and public-facing buildings.

More information on the ESER Bond Program can be found at www.sfearthquakesafety.org.

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