Last year’s dual fire engine breakdown exposed a major vulnerability in Cambria’s emergency response system.
Now, the Cambria Community Services District (CCSD) has been awarded nearly $1 million in federal Community Project Funding to replace one of those engines, with support from U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Monterey).
“The constant threat of wildfires that we face in California and across the Central Coast, including in Cambria, mandate that communities be prepared at all times of the year,” Panetta said in a Nov. 18 press release. “This type of significant investment in a state-of-the-art fire truck provides not just the Cambria district Fire Department, but also our community, with the best equipment to help keep our homes and region safe.”
Cambria Fire’s current engines, purchased in 2006 and 2017, experienced simultaneous mechanical failures in 2024, temporarily grounding the fleet and forcing the district to borrow an engine from Paso Robles City Fire. The incident highlighted the risks of operating with limited apparatus in a community designated by the state fire marshal as a high fire hazard severity zone, Panetta said.
“While the Department was able to borrow an engine from the Paso Robles City Fire Department during the time both engines were undergoing repairs, it became increasingly clear that the Cambria Fire Department needed a new fire engine to most effectively serve the city of Cambria and the surrounding region,” Panetta said.
The $935,000 grant will allow the CCSD to purchase a modern Type 1 fire engine.
CCSD General Manager Matthew McElhenie expressed gratitude for Panetta’s support and said that the community project funding will directly enhance Cambria’s safety and resilience.
“We are incredibly proud of our management staff, whose dedication, expertise, and countless hours of work made this grant application possible,” he said in a press release. “We also thank the Cambria Fire Safe Focus Group and the North Coast Advisory Council for providing letters of support, as well as our many community partners whose contributions make these accomplishments possible.”
In addition to the engine funding, Cambria Fire will also benefit from a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant, which will fund three firefighter positions over a three-year period.
The CCSD board of directors formally approved the funding on Oct. 9, and the program is expected to begin in April 2026.
“The SAFER Grant Program provides direct funding to fire departments to increase the number of firefighters, meet industry minimum standards, and achieve 24-hour staffing to protect communities from fire and related hazards better, while fulfilling the traditional mission of fire departments,” department staff said in the CCSD’s November newsletter.
The SAFER Grant enables the department to add one firefighter to daily staffing and operate a four-person engine company each day.
“This will improve daily staffing levels, reduce reliance on overtime, and enhance response times,” staff said.
The additional firefighter will also allow crews to safely enter hazardous situations in compliance with OSHA standards, conduct search-and-rescue operations more efficiently, and provide sufficient personnel for ocean rescue and other emergency operations.
Without additional funding beyond the three-year grant, the SAFER-funded positions will end, and the engine will revert to three-person staffing. ∆
This article appears in Holiday Guide 2025.