Ross will not look at alternatives to closing its fire station.

The Town Council voted Thursday against spending time and money on researching the feasibility and cost of five alternatives to shutting Station 18. Councilmembers Mathew Salter and Elizabeth Robbins had asked to reopen the discussion.

The potential alternatives included exploring a contract with the Kentfield Fire Protection District; exploring a contract with the Central Marin Fire Department; updating cost estimates to rebuild Station 18; researching a possible town fire department; and exploring the costs to keep the station open.

Mayor William Kircher, Julie McMillan and Teri Dowling voted against reviewing the options. Salter voted in favor of examining all five options. Robbins voted in favor of exploring new cost estimates to rebuild and keep the station open.

The Town Council unanimously voted in 2021 to close Station 18 by this July. A paramedic station operated by the Ross Valley Paramedic Authority will remain in town. The Ross Valley Fire Department is planning to staff three firefighters per engine at the San Anselmo and Fairfax stations.

Salter said rebuilding the station can be done at a lower price. He said Fairfax and San Anselmo have decided to remodel their fire stations for between $1.5 million and $4.5 million.

The Ross fire station is outdated and deteriorating. McMillan said remodeling is not possible because the station would have to be rebuilt from scratch and comply with building regulations set by the 1986 “essential services” law.

In a survey done in 2020, only about 35% of respondents said they would support paying about $14 million to rebuild Station 18. The threshold for approval is 66.6%.

“I do not support the need for a fully staffed fire department, and all its incumbent equipment stationed in Ross,” said Michael Rosenbaum, a resident. “Five years later, how is the council going to convince some 30% of Ross residents to change their opinion?”

Jason Weber, the county fire chief and the executive officer of the Ross Valley Paramedic Authority, said there were 96 ambulance calls in Ross in 2023, though 10 were in the watershed. About 70% of the calls were handled by the ambulance in Ross, and 26 calls did not require transportation to a hospital. One call involved a cardiac arrest.

The Ross ambulance was available to respond to incidents in town 85% of the time, according to a 2019 analysis. Another study last year found the ambulance was available for incidents in town 71% of the time, but Weber noted this analysis used a smaller data set.

The paramedic authority’s average response time is 12 minutes and 50 seconds. Station 18’s response time is seven minutes and 55 seconds, and it could go up by two minutes without the fire station, according to a 2019 report from a town consultant.

Salter said the response time assumes the ambulance is at its base and there is no traffic. He said closing the fire station increases the town’s reliance on mutual aid from surrounding areas and the one ambulance, which serves a large area.

“Why wouldn’t we want to provide lifesaving care to somebody in cardiac arrest if we could?” Salter asked. “The reality is we can, and what I’m asking this council to do is get to a place of yes, let’s find a way to do this, because I know we can do it.”

Weber said the response time is not dangerous and the system is “very” effective. Additionally, a new countywide system will dispatch services based on vehicle location, regardless of jurisdiction, and the type of emergency.

“I would have been jumping out of this chair in 2021 if I thought the council was putting people in undue risk,” Weber said.

By comparison, the Southern Marin Fire Protection District has an average overall response time of nine minutes and 49 seconds. San Rafael’s emergency medical response time ranged from nine minutes and 37 seconds to 18 minutes and 39 seconds. Simultaneous calls for services happened around 30% of the time for most agencies.

Resident Singh Virk said that if people had the facts, the town could get the support needed to pass a bond measure.

“This town has come through when we needed to,” Singh said. “I’m not comfortable in picturing a fire truck leaving San Anselmo, getting stuck at the Hub, and hearing the siren and it’s still there, and five minutes later it’s still moving. It’s going to take a long time.”

Resident Ken Petrilla said the town’s decision was based on available data at the time and expert advice.

“I sleep better at night following the fire experts’ decisions and advice and information they’ve provided,” Petrilla said.