![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ljl-l-station-16-conditions-1.jpg\")
The doors of the sleeping quarters at Fire Station 16 in La Jolla are planned to be replaced. (Parker Davenport)<\/p>\nAn effort is underway to renovate a small fire station in La Jolla\u2019s Mount Soledad area, with local Rotarians looking to raise more than $100,000 to upgrade the sleeping quarters for the firefighters stationed there.<\/p>\n
The city of San Diego has approved what is considered a Phase 1 plan shepherded by the La Jolla Sunrise Rotary Club to replace walls and doors in the sleeping areas, as well as other improvements.<\/p>\n
Fire Station 16 at 2110 Via Casa Alta was built in 1982 and has had small upgrades since, but no major renovations, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe station was designed as an open concept and had partial doors that covered from the ground to a height of about eight feet,\u201d said Assistant Fire Chief Dan Eddy. Rather than doors built floor to ceiling, they are corrugated plastic sheets.<\/p>\n
\u201cMultiple stations in SDFD still have shared dorm rooms separated by curtains or doors like Fire Station 16,\u201d Eddy said.<\/p>\n
That presents chances for firefighters\u2019 sleep to be disrupted, Rotarians say.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole room is controlled by one light switch, so without doors that go to the ceiling, if someone turns on a light, they would affect everyone else,\u201d said Sunrise Rotarian Parker Davenport. \u201cSame for heating and cooling. They are all in one space, which is not ideal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe propose to construct floor-to-ceiling walls and doors so they have privacy and can control lighting and air flow through windows, which we are replacing. It\u2019s giving their living standards a big upgrade.\u201d<\/p>\n
The doors of the sleeping quarters at Fire Station 16 in La Jolla are planned to be replaced. (Parker Davenport)<\/p>\n
Over the past year, Davenport added, the club has worked with the Fire-Rescue Department, Fire-Rescue Foundation and applicable city departments to make the improvements happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole station could use a remodel, but because of restrictions on day-to-day operations, we are limited to remodeling the sleeping quarters,\u201d Davenport said. \u201cBut this is the most important part to remodel because sleep is the most important thing for firefighters. The sleeping quarters are not good, and I don\u2019t think anyone that lives in that jurisdiction wants their firefighters to get bad sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cindy Goodman, a member of the Rotary Club of La Jolla, which is supporting the Sunrise Rotary Club in the effort, agreed, saying \u201cIf you go up there, you wouldn\u2019t want to sleep there and you wouldn\u2019t want anyone you care about to sleep there. \u2026 They are in terrible condition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Four crew members at a time are assigned to Station 16 daily, Eddy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have had the opportunity through city and community funding to [provide] upgrades over the years at other stations, but not all,\u201d he said. \u201cThe generosity of the Rotary Club in wanting to make these changes is greatly appreciated. This upgrade would allow for more privacy and better air flow in the station. It would also allow for sound blocking\/dampening when crew members are resting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Should Rotarians come up with the money and materials, the city will provide the labor, Davenport said.<\/p>\n
Thus, Sunrise Rotary and other clubs plan to present fundraisers big and small to raise at least $120,000 for the project. Davenport said a final number isn\u2019t immediately available, as the city is working on its estimate.<\/p>\n
The Rotarians already have secured a grant for around $12,000 to kick-start the fundraising. The hope, Davenport said, is to start work on the project at the beginning of next year, but he said it depends on how fundraising goes.<\/p>\n
For Davenport, causes like this are personal.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing through college, I was a lifeguard, so I had a lot of friends that became firefighters,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I know [that] as a first responder, a lot of things can go wrong, so you want to be as prepared as you can be. \u2026 We chose sleeping quarters first because it is so important for them to get good sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through his job with Arista Architects, Davenport worked under fellow Rotarian Trip Bennett, who helped with a similar project to renovate a La Jolla fire station.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is a big figure in my life and he handed it off to me, so this is an homage to him,\u201d Davenport said. \u201cIt feels like a passing of the torch.\u201d<\/p>\n