San Luis fire chief has big plans moving forward

An additional fire station in San Luis could be in the near future as the new fire chief mulls options for his vision moving forward as head of the department.

Newly appointed Fire Chief Angel Rameriz has also reinitiated a bridge program for high school students interested in the fire academy.

“You know driving in today I was thinking to myself, I never thought I was going to be in this position,” said Chief Angel Rameriz for the San Luis Fire Department. Since February of 2018, Rameriz had been filling in as acting fire chief after the retirement of Chief Hank Green. He was appointed to fire chief this year.

Ramirez recognizes the growth throughout San Luis like the medical mall that will open soon on the east side as well as multiple subdivisions going up.

“I remember when the last street here in San Luis was 4th Avenue,” Ramirez said.

Hoping to see that same growth with the fire department, he said the department should begin the planning phase for a second fire station. “We are planning on it and hopefully soon we can start building and expanding down to the east,” he said.

With two ports of entry, federal, and a state prison, Rameriz said the volume of calls is high. Last year the department had nearly 4,400 calls for service and nearly 2,800 transports, according to Ramirez.

“The rates of calls have grown by four percent each year,” Rameriz said.

San Luis High School has added the bridge program back to its curriculum for students interested in becoming a fire cadet. The program has already 16 students that are enrolled.

The department is also able to up staff its third ambulance after helping many firefighters transition to paramedics.

“It is kind of unheard of for a one station department, to have three ambulances here for the city of San Luis.”