El Centro seeks $10 million for new emergency hub and upgraded fire station

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA) - The City of El Centro is mapping out a massive upgrade to its local emergency response network, but city leaders say they cannot secure the funding without direct input from local residents.

The city is actively seeking a $10 million grant through the California Strategic Growth Council's Community Resilience Centers Implementation Grant Program.

If approved, the funding will build a brand-new, multi-purpose Community Resilience Campus near the southeast corner of State and Sixth streets.

The proposed blueprints feature a state-of-the-art emergency shelter system paired with a desperately needed replacement for El Centro's busiest, most outdated fire station.

The current Fire Station One has protected the heart of El Centro for nearly eight decades. Built in the late 1940s, the facility handles 60% of the entire city's emergency calls, managing nearly 5,500 annual responses.

Despite that massive workload, severe space limitations restrict the location to housing just a single fire engine.

"What the station does not allow for is the space, quite frankly," said El Centro Fire Department Battalion Chief Eddie Ainza. "We don't have the space here for the crew members, nor the apparatus or the machinery to operate with the demands for this portion of the city."

Analytics indicate the busy district actually requires two active fire engines to maintain optimal response times. However, adding personnel or mechanics is structurally impossible in the current facility.

"Typically, we will have five persons running out of the station. Unfortunately, that quite doesn't meet the demand," Ainza explained. "This facility would be a huge upgrade...It allows our personnel to reside in a location and a building that is more suitable in 2026 for first responders to respond out of, but also still remain in the same response area."

Beyond housing first responders, the proposed campus is designed as a direct community refuge hub during environmental emergencies.

The Imperial Valley has seen a steep rise in volatile weather, ranging from dangerous summer heatwaves to sudden blackout-inducing storms.

Right now, El Centro's only designated cooling center is located entirely across town at the Imperial Valley Mall.

"This will put it central to the city, adjacent to the fire department. Quite frankly, there's nowhere for people to escape the heat on this side of the city," Chief Ainza said.

El Centro Community Services Director Adriana Nava noted that the state is shifting its funding models toward persistent, long-term disaster readiness due to changing climate threats.

"I think as we've had more wildfires and earthquakes, California is preparing itself now for natural disasters for the long run," Nava said. "Before, it was an occurrence that would occur once or twice a year, but now we're seeing that throughout the year we’re having multiple disasters."

When completed, the multi-purpose resilience facility will provide a central location for several key community services:

• Emergency shelter and immediate evacuation spaces.
• Central cooling center operations during severe summer heatwaves.
• Filtered, clean-air refuge during heavy dust storms and regional wildfire events.
• Dedicated backup electricity generators and emergency communications equipment.
• Distribution sites for emergency supplies, medical gear refrigeration, and clean food and water distribution.
• Year-round neighborhood resources, including job training, health programs, and community meeting rooms.

"It would be a combo of assisting our most vulnerable population and incorporating workforce development aspects to it," Nava added. "We've had a lot of inclement weather where it's been really hot or we've had storms. So when people are displaced and have nowhere to go, this place would be able to help them."

The state grant process relies heavily on proof of robust civic engagement. To win the competitive $10 million allocation, city officials need local residents to log on and rank their neighborhood's highest safety priorities.

"For us, it's important that we reach all members of the community and their voices are represented through a survey," Nava emphasized. "That's the only way we can get community feedback...as a community being an active participant and telling us what their needs are."

The official community feedback survey is live now and available in both English and Spanish. Residents can choose their preferred language from the drop-down menu before submitting their rankings.

The submission portal will remain open until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, September 9. Local community members can access the official submission questionnaire online right now by visiting the secure portal.