Stinson Beach will get a new fire and rescue station. On Tuesday, the Marin County Board of Supervisors provided the final funding needed to convert the old station, a modified garage constructed in 1949, to a new facility that can address modern crises.
The Stinson Beach Fire Protection District responds to fires, medical emergencies, car crashes, natural disasters and other public safety incidents throughout coastal Marin.
The community, just an hour’s drive from San Francisco, includes popular tourist destinations such as Mount Tamalpais State Park and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
The $14.7 million rebuild will accommodate new technology and equipment and allow staff to set up an incident command site for coordinating with other emergency responders during major disasters.
According to the fire district’s website, the old station is a converted garage rented from a community center. During their 48-hour shifts, firefighters sleep on a pull-out cot or a trailer parked on the street outside.
Patients needing first aid are treated on a folding chair with no privacy. Personal protective gear, which can become contaminated with hazardous substances during fires, is exposed to workers in a main bay rather than being stored in lockers.
The building is not constructed to current seismic standards and is at risk of flooding if an adjacent creek overflows.
Already, the district had secured about $14.2 million through donations and fundraising. The county’s award of $500,000 was in addition to $100,000 pledged by the Board of Supervisors in 2023.
The new half-million is evenly split between the county’s West Marin Infrastructure Fund and proceeds from the Measure W transient occupancy tax on short-term rentals passed by West Marin voters in 2018.
