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By Paul Levikow
Image, left: rendering of future Fire State 18
July 17, 2025 (Crest) – San Miguel Fire & Rescue Deputy Chief Tobin Riley appeared before the Crest Community Association Thursday to provide an update on construction of Fire Station 18 on the corner of Suncrest Boulevard and North Lane. The update was provided after Facebook posts by concerned residents wondered why the lot has been sitting empty for so long.
“Perception is reality, people drive by, they see the dirt lot not moving and they have the right to ask questions,” Riley said. “The station is being built in phases.”
The new station will be double the size and capacity of the previous station with approximately 8,000 square feet, two stories, and have six rooms. The apparatus bay will be two doors wide and double deep. Nine construction companies have expressed an interest in bidding on the $4.1 million project. A ribbon cutting is planned for April 2026.
The original Fire Station 18 was built in 1948 and has surpassed its National Fire Protection Association’s recommended lifespan of 70 years. It was built with materials and building codes that are considered hazardous and substandard by today’s codes. A third-party company that was contracted to assess the fire station identified it as being functional, though not fully reliable and in need of replacement, according to Riley.
“This new construction highlights that the San Miguel Consolidated Fire Protection District is committed to investing into each of our stations so we can meet the emergency response needs of all our citizens served,” says a post on the website.
“One of the challenges that we’re having at this site, is keeping a fire station open to the citizens here 24 hours a day, seven days a week, a fire engine with a paramedic on it,” Riley said. “We have never had a break in service.”
The next step that will be noticeable to residents is the concrete slab that will support the metal building that is being constructed off site.
‘I would also like to point out…the citizens up here are so supportive,” Riley said. “credit to you guys for having an awesome community.”
Riley, who is overseeing the project, posted an update on the San Miguel Fire & rescue web site. He assured the community that a memorial to Jack Dyer that was in front of the previous station, will be placed in front of the new one after the project is completed. Dyer was a volunteer firefighter who perished in a wildfire October 1965
“If there is a hole in our communication, if we can do better for the citizens, email me,” Riley said. “There are no secrets.”
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