San Jose Fire Station 32 remains empty after staffing funds were cut from the city’s upcoming budget, leaving a nearly complete station unused near U.S. Highway 101 and Interstate 680. The San Jose City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to seek federal help, but the building still has no opening date.
Robert Sapien on response times
Robert Sapien said the station would change how quickly crews reach calls in the surrounding area. “It would have an immediate impact on the response times in that service area, but also to surrounding stations which are extremely busy,” he said. He added, “In fact, that is one of the busiest parts of our response area.”
The station was funded by bond measure ‘T’, which San Jose voters approved in 2018, and groundbreaking for San Jose Fire Station 32 took place in September 2024. It was originally scheduled to be in service this year, with room for an engine and a truck company and eight personnel on duty daily for medical emergencies, structure fires and vehicle accidents.
San Jose budget plan
City officials deferred crew funding until 2028 as part of a San Jose budget plan built to close a $50 million shortfall. The 2026-2027 fiscal year budget was officially approved on June 16 and goes into effect on July 1, so the station stays unopened under the current spending plan.
Jerry May, president of the San Jose Firefighters Local 230, said, “It is empty because our city council members and the mayor have not prioritized public safety in the city of San Jose.” Councilmember Bien Doan opposed the deferral and said, “My reaction is you are doing a huge disservice to the underserved community.” He also said, “So you are talking about the two underserved communities on the East Side that have been neglected for too long.”
FEMA funding and 2026
The grant request would cover roughly one-third of the station’s required operational costs over the next four years, so it does not close the funding gap by itself. It would help, as Sapien put it: “It does help, absolutely.” San Jose expects to know before the end of 2026 whether FEMA approves the request, and city officials are also looking for additional money during the midyear budget review.
