Manteca’s fire station on Louise Avenue west of Main Street has been temporarily closed.

The reason: Roughly 1,000 gallons of water from the last measurable rain was still puddled on the flat roof.

The roof was deemed to be in such a bad state of disrepair that the city’s building inspector ordered the station shuttered. 

In the meantime, the engine has been shifted to the Powers Avenue station.

The tiller truck with the 100-foot aerial ladder has been moved from the Powers station to the Union Road station that was designed to accommodate such a truck and an engine company.

That means the tiller truck and a front line engine will be responding to emergency calls from the Union Road station that is also designed to house six firefighters.

Once emergency repairs are completed on the Louise Avenue station, the tiller truck will return to the Powers station and an engine company to the Louise station.

The Louise Avenue station has a history of being the proverbial canary in the coal mine when it comes to the city not adequately addressing fire service needs due to financial constraints.

It was completed in the 1980s and sat unused for months because the city lacked the funding to man it.

The year was 1985 and the city’s general fund reserve had dwindled down to a precarious $1,000.

Starting a decade or so ago, various city fire chiefs during budget sessions brought up structural issues with both the Powers station — the oldest in the city — and the Louise Avenue station.

Repairs were repeatedly delayed due to a lack of money. Then, the city a few years back, was able to do needed work on the Powers station.

The roof and other structural issues still existed at the Louise station that was also built to accommodate quarters for two firefighters and not three.

It was also the first station a few years back with homeless camping on station grounds.

That led to the addition of wrought iron fencing to secure both the Louise and Powers stations.

For years, the fire department command and frontline firefighters have expressed serious concerns with the age and condition of some of the city’s engines, including among the city’s five front line engines.

That has led to situations where a front line engine failed to start forcing firefighters to switch to the reserve engine at a station to respond to an emergency call.

There was even a situation where a fire engine in 2024 broke down while responding to an emergency call

Last year, not only did the Louise station frontline engine fail to start but so did the backup engine.

That prompted the dispatch of an engine company from another station. It not only extended the response time but it sidelined three firefighters until a reserve engine from another station could be relocated

Elected leaders four years ago started trying to play catch-up to work toward having front line engines that are moved to reserve status after 10 years.

The Measure Q tax measure the council advanced last year that voters approved is designed to fund needed equipment replacement and maintenance needs throughout the city as well as help address street-related issues.

The city also has yet to act on a recommendation from a fire service consultant specializing in maximizing the effectiveness of fire station locations.

The consultant said city call data indicated “relocating” the Louise station a mile to the east would improve current response time and help address growth.

Given existing location and growth in the eastern portion of Manteca, it was determined it would avoid the need to build a seventh fire station to serve a much larger city.

Manteca’s leaders are currently pursuing a much more pressing fire station need — building a sixth station to serve the rapidly growing southeast portion of the city.

It is needed to bring upwards of 3,000 homes to within the targeted five minute response time for emergency calls.

Investing more beyond minimal repairs in the Louise Avenue station may not be cost effective if city leaders decide working toward relocating the station to maximize personnel and equipment makes sense.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com