Encinitas firefighters moved out of the city’s downtown Fire Station 1 on Tuesday after a building inspection found the unreinforced, concrete masonry structure could be unsafe in an earthquake. In “an abundance of caution” and as a temporary measure, Station 1’s firefighters — typically three people operating the fire engine and two with an ambulance at any given time — have relocated to Station 3, the Leucadia area station on Orpheus Avenue, the city announced. “The experts are analyzing our options,” Mayor Tony Kranz said in a phone interview Thursday as he discussed what the future might hold. Ultimately, he said, the city likely has two choices: 1) Renovate the existing, concrete block Station 1 building. Located at 415 2nd Street, that single-story structure dates from the 1950s and has never been retrofitted; 2) or demolish the current Station 1 and replace it with a new building. “The most likely scenario is starting over” and building a new structure, given the likely multimillion-dollar cost of either option, Kranz said. Technically, there is a third option — the Station 1 firefighters could simply remain at Station 3 permanently and the city could eliminate Station 1. But, that “is not one I would ever consider,” the mayor said. “We had the number of stations we had because that’s what we need to effectively cover the city.” Station 1 serves a critical need because it, along with the city’s marine lifeguards, is a primary responder for Moonlight Beach emergencies, as well as ones along downtown’s portion of Coast Highway 101, Kranz said. City Fire Chief Josh Gordon couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday. In the city press release announcing the staffing relocation, Gordon was quoted as saying, “The fire department wants to assure the public that this move will not affect our ability to respond to emergencies promptly.” This is the second, sudden, temporary relocation of city firefighters in two years due building safety issues. In 2022, firefighters at Station 6 — a small rented office space on Olivenhain’s Rancho Santa Fe Road — had to move out because of mold and asbestos concerns. Emergency repairs, costing about $153,000, were completed on that structure in March 2023, the city’s web site indicates. Kranz said Thursday that firefighters asked for the recent building inspection of Station 1 that turned up the seismic safety issues. And it wasn’t entirely a surprise that inspectors found the aging building needed repairs. “There’s been an awareness of the inadequacy of that structure for many, many years,” the mayor said. In fact, in 2006, Encinitas borrowed $7 million to upgrade its three oldest stations, including Station 1, a news story at the time noted. But, Station 1 was third in line behind stations 2 and 3, and the money ran out after the first two projects, said Kranz, who wasn’t on the council at the time. Encinitas is again contemplating a money-raising effort to upgrade its facilities. A city-sponsored measure on the November ballot would increase the city’s sales tax by 1 percent and part of that revenue could be used for the Station 1 project, Kranz said.