The Stinson Beach Fire Protection District is reconsidering an initiative to build a new headquarters at the site of the former Sea Beach Hotel. After acquiring the property in 2020 with the help of anonymous donors, the district merged the lots, the first step in building a facility there. But as volunteers fell away during the pandemic, the department’s priority became hiring paid personnel, putting the construction project on the back burner. Now, the district is taking a new look at the best use of the property.
“The objective now is to go back to the drawing board to see if plans made in the project’s past align with the district’s current goals,” said fire chief Jesse Peri, who took over last year from Kenny Stevens and is facilitating the discussion about the plans. “When Covid hit, there were a lot of operational changes, and the project was put on hold. We’re all looking forward to getting the ball rolling again.”
Last year, the district’s budget set aside $75,000 for architecture fees, but when the project was paused, the unspent funds went back into reserves. This year’s budget allotted $30,000 for the project. A firehouse advisory group composed of Mr. Peri, his assistant fire chief Toby Bisson, two members of the district’s board and a staff member met last week for the first time in over a year to begin identifying the best use for the lot and strategies for fundraising. Blueprints created last year by Shah Kawasaki Architects map out a two-story fire station with two dorm rooms, but Mr. Peri said the plans may change.
Stinson Beach’s current fire station was built in 1947 and was never meant to serve as a full-time headquarters. The department’s 10 full-time and part-time employees and over a dozen volunteers now push the use of the facility to its limits.
Mark White, a district director and former volunteer firefighter, said the station’s garage is too small for housing modern trucks. Engines have increased in size over the decades, and there is now about three inches of play between the trucks and the bay’s pillars on either side. The tight space leaves personal protective equipment in dangerous proximity to diesel fumes emitted by the trucks, Mr. Peri said.
The department parks its largest vehicles at another space, a garage built in 1980 a half-mile north of the headquarters, on Calle del Arroyo. The district rents the county-owned property on a 100-year lease. The garage also stores water rescue equipment, protective gear and resources for fundraiser events. Mr. Peri said because the property sits at a lower elevation, it likely won’t be operational too far into the future.
Sleeping accommodations are another challenge at the current headquarters. “We have firefighters sleeping out in a trailer because we don’t have adequate living facilities,” Mr. Peri said.
The trailer, which sits across a small creek, can comfortably house one person and is at capacity with three. One 24-hour staff member also has access to a murphy bed and a small kitchenette for night shifts. Though the station has undergone renovations twice in the last decade, a major renovation that could allow for a larger workspace and more beds is infeasible due to streamside development regulations.
And although the current station is too small for existing staff and volunteers, the department needs more help. The number of volunteer firefighters declined from 25 or more in 2019 to just 16 now, with many still in training roles. Additionally, some volunteers only serve in logistical roles like traffic control. Mr. Peri said it is increasingly difficult to recruit staff and volunteers, given the shortage of affordable housing in the area and the limited accommodations at the firehouse.
“A lot of the volunteers and at least one staff member commute to the station from as far as Petaluma,” said Jeffrey Walsh, a district director. “We’re competing with a lot of other fire districts that can pay more and offer beds.”
The district has a pilot program for out-of-area volunteers in which the volunteers are on call for emergencies from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., sometimes receiving training during these shifts to fill the time. Two of the station’s volunteers traveling from over the hill come to Stinson Beach to gain experience; another works his day job remotely from the headquarters while he’s on call. Though these volunteers are not compensated for traveling, they receive small stipends for attending training sessions and gain valuable experience, Mr. Peri said.
The district’s Sea Beach Hotel property, located just three doors down from the current headquarters across from Fritz Bikes on Shoreline Highway, has recently been occupied by dumpsters, supplies and vehicles belonging to the contractor working on the construction of the Surf Lodge. The written agreement between the fire district and the lodge owner expired last week and the contractors have cleared out their
belongings.
The district bought the first of the two lots that make up the property in 2019 for $550,000, with funds coming from reserves and $150,000 from an anonymous donor. Another anonymous donor then gifted the adjacent property to the Stinson Beach Volunteer Fire Association, which transferred the title to the district.
The Sea Beach Hotel was opened in 1913 by Jack and Sarah Airey in the wake of the San Francisco earthquake. The couple, who lost their iron foundry in the 1906 quake, were among many who left the city to open businesses in nearby towns. They moved to what was then called Willow Camp and operated the 20-room hotel for nearly two decades.
When the volunteer fire association was established in 1921, Mr. Airey’s nephew Frank was appointed treasurer. Mr. Airey acted as fire chief at one point. William Airey, Mr. Airey’s son who inherited and operated the hotel, was fire chief in 1947, when planning for the current firehouse began. The hotel went in and out of operation throughout the 20th century and had been converted into a private residence when a fire started by a kerosene lamp burned down the buildings in 1971. The lot has since been vacant.