Area Served[]
The Hollister Fire Department (HFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Hollister, the county seat of San Benito County, located some 42 miles southeast of San Jose in Central California, one of the largest cities in the Monterey Bay Area. Since 2013, HFD has also been providing fire protection to the neighboring City of San Juan Bautista, and to the unincorporated areas of San Benito County. The city is named after its founder, William Welles Hollister (1818–1886), a rancher and entrepreneur who, on November 19, 1868 purchased the former Mexican land-grant of Rancho San Justo in an area that would eventually become the city of Hollister. Incorporated as a city on March 26, 1872, it encompasses an area covering 7.84 square miles (city) and 78 square miles (district), and serves a population of approximately 41,678 (city) and 3,000 (district). The city of Hollister is bordered by the unincorporated San Benito County community of Dunneville to the north, unincorporated San Benito County to the east, the unincorporated community of Ridgemark to the southeast, the Hollister Hills State Vehicle Recreation Area (SVRA) to the southwest, and the City of San Juan Bautista to the west-northwest.
Department Profile[]
The Hollister Fire Department is budgeted for 41 full-time firefighters, supplemented by three reserve firefighters with which it serves the City of Hollister, the City of San Juan Bautista as well as unincorporated San Benito County, including since 2015 to the Panoche Valley Solar Farm in Paicines (one type-6 wildland unit). The HFD is a CAL OES apparatus assignee for the state's mutual aid program. The department has a daily staffing of 9 firefighters working out of three fire stations. Included in the staffing is a Fire Prevention Bureau and Administrative Services. Its daily resources include five front-line emergency vehicles comprised of three Type 1 engine companies, one quint aerial ladder truck company, and one battalion chief vehicle. In addition. Hollister cross staffs two Type 6 wildland companies, one OES Type-1 engine company and one OES Type-6 wildland company, two water tenders, and one air-light squad. HFD responds to approximately 2,646 incidents annually, 75% of which are medical calls, and has mutual aid agreements with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection San Benito-Monterey Unit (CAL Fire BEU), the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit (CAL Fire CZU), the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Santa Clara Unit (CAL Fire SCU), the Aromas Tri-County Fire Protection District, the Monterey County Regional Fire District, the North County Fire Protection District of Monterey County, the Marina Fire Department, the Salinas Fire Department, the Seaside Fire Department (California), the Presidio of Monterey Fire Department, the Central Fire District (California) of Santa Cruz County, and the Santa Clara County Fire Department.
History[]
On December 20th, after a call out, the citizens of the Town of Hollister held a meeting for the purpose of organizing a fire department. As a result on December 27th 1875, the Hollister Volunteer Fire Department initiated fire service protection to the community with 69 volunteers, including one chief engineer, and two assistant chief engineers, two hand drawn hose companies (19 firemen each and two fire bosses), and one hand drawn hook and ladder company (24 firemen and one fire boss), serving the town of Hollister and some of its outlying areas. The hook and ladder company operated out of a firemen’s hall, while the hose companies operated out of two barns.
Apparatus Roster[]
All pump/tank measurements are in US gallons.
Fire Station 1 - 110 Fifth Street / Headquarters[]
- Engine 11 - 2017 Rosenbauer Commander (1500/525/30A)
- Rescue 61 - 2001 International 4900 / 2001 SVI walk-around (SN#373) (Ex-Rescue 9261)
- Engine 311 - 2024 International HV507 4x4 / Rosenbauer wildland (1000/500) (SN#18412)
- Cal OES Engine 2122 - 2005 HME 1871-SFO SMFD / Westates Type 1 (1250/750/20F)
- Cal OES Brush Patrol 2611 - 2021 Ford F-550 / HME Ahrens-Fox Type 6 wildland (500,200/300/20F)
- Antique - 1928 Seagrave pumper (Ex-Engine 2)
Fire Station 2 - 1000 Union Road[]
- Engine 12 - 2017 Rosenbauer Commander (1500/525/30A)
- Engine 13 (Reserve) - 2010 HME / Ferrara (1500/650/20F) (SN#H-4443) (Ex-Engine 11)
- Engine 15 (Reserve) - 2010 HME / Ferrara (1500/650/20F) (SN#H-4490) (Ex-Engine 12)
- Water Tender 52 - 2015 Rosenbauer Commander 5411 Tactical Type 2 (1250/3000) (SN#21602)
- Support 65 - 2001 International 4900 air-light
Fire Station 3 - 60 Airport Drive / Hollister Municipal Airport[]
- Engine 13 - 2021 Rosenbauer Commander (1500/500) (SN#18411)
- Water Tender 53 - 2024 International HV507 4x4 / Rosenbauer wildland (500/2000) (SN#22105)
- Engine 643 - 2018 Ford F-550 4x4 / Rosenbauer Type 6 wildland (300/350/20)
Fire Station 4 - 24 Polk Street, San Juan Bautista[]
- Engine 14 - 2003 Pierce Saber (1500/750/?A) (SN#14047) (County owned)
- Engine 644 - 2018 Ford F-550 4x4 / Rosenbauer Type 6 wildland (300/350/20)
Assignment Unknown[]
- 2005 Pierce Contender pumper (SN#16379) (San Juan Bautista owned)
On Order[]
- 2024 Rosenbauer Commander 100' Tiller (1500/200)
Retired Apparatus[]
- 2003 Spartan Gladiator / KME pumper (Sold June 29, 2023 GovDeals)
- 1997 Spartan Advantage MFD VA40M-2142 / 1998 Ferrara aerial (1500/500/75' Tele-Squrt) (SN#H-1020) (Ex-Truck 71, ex-Truck 9271)
- 1996 Kenworth tender (?/3500) (Ex-Water Tender 52)
- 1990 GMC 7000 / Grumman pumper (840/840) (Ex-Engine 17 (Reserve), ex-Engine 9121, ex-Engine 3)
- 1981 Duplex D250 / Westates (1500/750) (SN#332) (Ex-Engine 9212)
- 1997 International 4900 4x4 Type 3 wildland
- 2004 KME / Hi-Tech