South Monterey County Fire Protection District gives an exclusive tour of their new fire station in Lockwood

LOCKWOOD, Calif. (KION) - A new fire station has popped up in Southern Monterey County. A resource people in the area say is much needed.

"I want to say we're neglected. That's just my personal opinion. We're forgotten about," said Wendy Walton, who lives in Bradley.

KION got an exclusive tour of the new fire station in Lockwood which is set to open up in just a few weeks.

"There were many times I think we thought it wasn't going to happen," said Jon Conatser, Board president for South Monterey County Fire Protection District. "And luckily, you know, through some of the partnerships that we found in the last few years, we found a lot of positive, progress and was able to complete the project this year,"

Walton recalls a time when quick assistance was needed close to home.

"Unfortunately, four years back, one of the mobile homes across from us caught fire and It took them about 45 minutes to get here," Walton said. "But, the neighbors are Good Samaritans and they put it out before our fire [crews] got here,"

The 6,000-square-foot building will have a training room, two offices, a kitchen with a living space, a storage room, and two rooms which will soon be furnished.

It's the first station in the South Monterey County that will be able to house permanent staff.

Jason Luckenbach who is a CAL FIRE battalion chief said that the fire station will be a game changer for them.

"We're able to house additional apparatus at this facility now," Luckenbach said. "And we've also have a dedicated training center for any future firefighters that welcome to join."

Since this is a volunteer-based fire station that responds to not just fires but also medical aid – they are relying on the community help.

Luckenbach tells me there are four volunteers in the training process.

On February 17th, the grand opening for the new station will be held at noon at 68875 Jolon Road.

CAL FIRE said they are excited about the new addition to the BEU Unit. The total cost of the building will be $3.5 million.

CalFire said it's been 15 years in the making and the facility will house volunteer firefighters.

"Everybody is excited about it. As I said, it's been a long time needed. We needed it out here," said Walton.

If you're interested in volunteering, go to www.somocofpd.org.