Firefighters Live in a Trailer
by Mariana Martínez Barba / Voice of San Diego / April 16, 2026
In 2015, construction workers plowed through an abandoned gas station in southeastern San Diego to make way for a new, temporary fire station.
The site, which would house a fire engine and an ambulance, was opening to improve emergency response times in the area after our reporting revealed people died of gunshot wounds and overdoses because emergency responders came too late.
Then-Mayor Kevin Faulconer applauded the city’s efforts at a press conference outside the soon-to-be station in 2015. He made a bold promise: “In two to three years, we will begin building a permanent fire station right here on this very spot.”
That never happened. Instead, Fire Station 51 is still a temporary fire station. The fire truck sits under a large tent and firefighters’ living quarters are a mobile trailer.
George Duardo, president of the San Diego City Firefighters IAFF Local 145, has worked more than 100 shifts as a firefighter at Fire Station 51. He said it does not meet the standards of a “modern fire station.”
Duardo said the station’s vinyl structure has slowly degraded, the station lacks enough bathrooms and needs an additional engine to fight brush fires. And Councilmember Henry Foster, who represents the area, says city officials prioritized other areas to build stations.
Officials from the city’s Fire-Rescue Department said funding challenges have prevented the city from building a fire station, but that the current station provides the same level of service as other fire stations.
“Though we keep hearing the word ‘temporary,’ I can assure you that Station 51 provides the same level of service as any of our other fire stations,” said Assistant Chief Theodore Moran in an interview with Voice. “The facility itself does not at all play into the service that we’re providing.”
They also say emergency response times improved in the area after the station opened, but Fire-Rescue data shared with Voice of San Diego reveals response times and incident calls, in general, are higher today.
Fire Station 51 is in the southeastern San Diego neighborhood of Skyline, a residential area surrounded by canyons. The neighborhood’s population is a majority of Black and Latino middle-class families.
In 2011, a study identified Skyline as one of the top five neighborhoods with the highest risk of delayed emergency response times in the city.
In response to the report, the San Diego City Council passed a plan to build five fire stations over the next five years in areas they considered to be a priority. Two years later, Voice reported that officials didn’t build the stations. Our reporting showed residents died when paramedics didn’t arrive in time to save them.
City officials promised to do better and put funding toward two new fire stations, including one in Skyline. The estimated cost to build a permanent station in 2013 was approximately $13 million. Two years later, city officials opened the temporary Fire Station 51.
“I haven’t received any clear information as to the why,” said Foster in an interview with Voice about building a permanent fire station. “What I’m seeing instead is an indication that this is an equity issue and it appears decisions have simply been made to prioritize other areas, which needs to change.”
The city built other fire stations in that time. This includes Fire Station 2, opened in 2018 in Little Italy for $15 million. Fire station 50 also cost $15 million and opened in 2020 in University City. City Heights also got a new and improved fire station in 2018.
In 2024, city officials opened the city’s “most environmentally friendly” fire station in La Jolla. UC San Diego covered most of the $22 million project and the city paid for a $2.1 million electric fire engine.
Duardo said the station’s vinyl structure has degraded over time with the sun and elements. He said in the summer, the temperature in the tent that houses the fire engine and equipment can get up to 120 degrees. While they haven’t experienced significant flooding, he said they do get streams of water coming into the tent when it rains.
“Having any degree of moisture – even though it really only happens during the rain, is not ideal by any means,” he said.
He worries about how the weather can damage their equipment.
He also said the station only has two bathrooms, which can create challenges as people are getting ready to start their shift.
“As people come and people go, bathrooms are really important,” he said. “Enough showers are really important. A place where you can clean your equipment, get carcinogens off your protective equipment… modern fire stations facilitate that.”
He also said with a permanent fire station, they could add an additional engine to solely fight brush fires in the area.
For the balance, please go here.
