Fire station staffing shuffle may affect Oceanside-Carlsbad response times

An Oceanside staffing switch to fill positions in a new fire station in South Moro Hills has raised Carlsbad’s concerns about response times in an area shared by the two cities.

The two cities respond to thousands of cross-border calls annually under a regional agreement that sends the closest available personnel to an emergency. Sometimes Oceanside sends a truck or ambulance to Carlsbad, and sometimes Carlsbad goes to Oceanside, depending on who can arrive the fastest.

This week the Oceanside Fire Department moved an ambulance and its crew from its Fire Station No. 2 on South Ditmar Street, near Carlsbad, to a new Fire Station No. 9 that opened about 11 miles away on North River Road. The new station serves Oceanside’s northeast quadrant, including the rapidly developing North River Farms community.

The move raises concerns about a possible increase in response times to the northwestern area of Carlsbad served by its Fire Station No. 1 on Carlsbad Village Drive, City Manager Geoff Patnoe said in a Dec. 10 memo to the Carlsbad City Council.

The Carlsbad Fire Department will need to spend up to $300,000 in fiscal 2025-26 for increased staffing and overtime costs without an ambulance at the nearest Oceanside station, Patnoe told the Carlsbad council.

Oceanside Fire Chief David Parsons said Friday that the move is in the best interests of both cities.

“The paramedic ambulance will no longer operate out of Station 2, but first-response...