Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

County Fire upgrades two mountain fire stations

Chuck Westerheide

County of San Diego Communications Office

San Diego County and Cal Fire recently completed significant improvements to two fire stations, increasing their ability to safeguard communities in the northernmost reaches of the county.

A new County Fire Station 79 opened with new living quarters for firefighters serving Palomar Mountain. The $4 million project includes new sleeping quarters, a kitchen and dining room, a dayroom and laundry room.

The cabin-style building will replace use of a home built on the property in the 1930s. The modern building has exposed wood columns and beams, a stone veneer and a covered patio overlooking the beautiful mountain landscape.

"The County of San Diego is committed to improving fire protection in our region. We have been fortunate to avoid major wildfires over the past few years, but we know risk in this region is constant," said County Supervisor Jim Desmond. "These new fire stations will provide resources with up-to-date equipment and stronger staffing levels, which will enable our public safety officials to halt the forward rate of spread to the more populated areas as well as being an integral part of our unincorporated communities."

"We want to provide the community and our firefighters first-class equipment and facilities for the highest level of service to residents and visitors," said San Diego County Fire Director Jeff Collins. "We are grateful for the investments made by San Diego County at Fire Station 79."

Cal Fire/San Diego County Fire Chief Tony Mecham sees the benefits for fire crews.

"These fire stations are staffed 24/7 with professional firefighters, responding to all types of emergencies," Mecham said. "The communities we serve become a second home for these men and women, who are on duty days – and sometimes weeks – at a time. We want to provide them safe living quarters as they work to protect San Diego County."

The new construction allows for the existing space to be updated and turned back over to the community for use by neighbors in the area.

Construction at the remote site created special challenges for contractors. Crews had to excavate 13 feet into the mountain to create a proper foundation. Workers also had to work through COVID-19 supply chain material shortages and the cold, snowy weather that is present at the highest elevation in San Diego County.

"Platt Whitelaw Architects and EC Constructors delivered a spectacular building which complements the mountain aesthetic," said General Services Director Marko Medved. "We are replacing a building that served the Palomar Mountain community for more than 90 years and we want crews to serve neighbors from this new building for 90 more."

Crews also renovated one of San Diego County's most remote fire stations at Sunshine Summit, along state Route 79 north of Warner Springs. At this site, crews added 900 square feet to the vehicle bay to allow for the addition of a water tender to CAL FIRE Station 59.

This $2 million project adds much needed space to the small site, a 5,000-gallon water tank with pump to fill trucks, and a new exhaust system to keep the bay free of harmful exhaust fumes.

Construction at the site was done by EC Constructors, and Davy Architects redesigned the Sunshine Summit site.

 

Reader Comments(0)