Oceanside has been awarded a $3.5 million grant from a U.S. military program to build a new fire station, a Camp Pendleton spokesman announced Monday.
The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation’s Defense Community Infrastructure Program awarded the grant.
The new fire station will be one-and-a-half miles from the Del Mar and Main gates at the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base and “will greatly enhance response times in emergency situations,” a spokesman said.
“The construction of this fire station enhances the longstanding fire and emergency services partnership we enjoy with the city of Oceanside,” said Brig. Gen. Jason Woodworth, commanding general, Marine Corps Installations West. “We regularly support one another, and this allows for more robust capabilities which directly increases our combined coverage and decreases response time.”
“The new DCIP grant program provides a new tool to improve mutual support with local communities and we are appreciative that the grant was awarded to the city,” Woodworth continued.
Chief Ken Helgerson of the Camp Pendleton Fire Department said it’s great to “see Oceanside Fire Department finding success in funding a new station, allowing them to enhance their response capability.”
“It’s a huge win for their citizens, their department, and the Camp Pendleton community,” Helgerson said. “Whenever one of our mutual aid partners can expand and improve their ability to respond, everyone in the region sees a direct benefit.”
DCIP focuses on strengthening infrastructure aboard Navy and Marine corps installations against human-caused or naturally occurring threats and hazards.