Santa Monica Breaks Ground for New Fire Station No. 1
Community members and families gathered in the heart of downtown Santa Monica on Saturday, June 2 to watch the groundbreaking event for the newest fire station in the city. Through bond money, the city plans to spend just over $28 million on the project.
Located on 1444 7th St, the new station will be replacing Fire Station No. 1 just down the block and is intended to be operational in the second half of 2020. Despite being the most active fire station in the city, the older station does not accommodate the number of firefighters in the area. Another reason why the city planned for a new building for the station is to make it seismically sound, as there are concerns that the old station will not withstand an earthquake. The new building will be three stories, have dormitories and other services, including a community room.
Senior Construction Manager Sebastian Felbeck is responsible for hiring general contractors and will oversee the project in the coming years. “As a resident of Santa Monica, I can’t tell you how much it means to give the firefighters a home that’s resilient, sustainable, and really cool for the community," Felbeck said.
Fire Chief Bill Walker says serving the community is their highest priority, and making people feel comfortable around firefighters helps them do their job. “It’s a public building and we want people to come in and share with us,” Walker said. “That relationship, historically, has always been great, and we want to maintain it and keep making it better if we can.”
People were invited to tour the old station before the activities at the groundbreaking took place. Volunteers from the local Police Activities League helped children make artwork. They also passed out hot dogs and refreshments, while kids were allowed to sit in the fire trucks, including one of the oldest models in the city. A virtual reality set was available where users could experience a mock-up of the newest station.
Santa Monica Mayor Ted Winterer spoke to the crowd about the project, and said he enjoyed seeing families come together. “Kids love firefighters, to see them running around with their firefighter hats and everything, it’s exciting,” Winterer said. “For those of us who are a little more grown up, it’s exciting to see years and years of work on this project finally reach a point where we got the shovel in the ground.”
Construction is scheduled to start next week.