San Jose Fire Station 32 is nearly finished, but it is still empty after staffing money was cut from the city budget. On Tuesday, the San Jose City Council voted unanimously to apply for a federal grant in an effort to open the station sooner.
The building near the interchange of U.S. Highway 101 and Interstate 680 was supposed to be in service this year. Instead, the city pushed crew funding to 2028 as part of a budget plan to close a $50 million shortfall, even after the 2026-2027 fiscal year budget was approved on June 16 and set to take effect on July 1.
The grant application would not fully solve the problem. It would cover roughly one-third of the station’s operational costs over the next four years, leaving the rest to be found elsewhere if San Jose wants to staff the building before 2028. The city expects to learn before the end of 2026 whether FEMA approves the request.
For Jerry May, the delay is already a political failure. He said the station is empty because city council members and the mayor have not prioritized public safety in San Jose. The fire station was funded by bond measure T, which voters approved in 2018, and groundbreaking took place in September 2024.
The station is designed to house both an engine and a truck company, with eight personnel on duty each day to respond to medical emergencies, structure fires and vehicle accidents. Robert Sapien said it would have an immediate effect on response times in that service area and also ease pressure on surrounding stations that are already extremely busy. He added that it would help, absolutely, because that stretch of San Jose is one of the busiest parts of the response area.
Councilmember Bien Doan opposed the budget deferral and said it harms underserved neighborhoods in East San Jose, including parts of District 7 and neighboring District 5. San Jose City Council members now have a partial federal route to follow, but the station still cannot open until the city finds the rest of the money to staff it.
