After 11 months of construction, the only item left to cross off the list for Fire Station 143 in Castaic is dusting the floors.
Come Oct. 1, residents west of Santa Clarita city limits will see speedier service time from the county fire department as their now-nearest station comes online.
“Once we open up Fire Station 143, we’ll have faster response times in to Hasley Canyon as well as the 5 freeway and Castaic,” said Battalion 6 Fire Chief Chris Rash.
“We’ll be about two miles closer than the other two stations that used to service this area.”
The 10,000 square foot building was originally planned to replace aging Fire Station 76 on Henry Mayo Drive, but those plans were scrapped in favor of staffing an additional station for the Castaic area.
The green and white structure located at 28580 Hasley Canyon Road will take some territory and daily calls for service from stations 76 and 149 while augmenting brush fire response for the entire Santa Clarita Valley.
A single-engine company will call the location home for the time being, Rash said. Officials weren’t counting out a possible shift in Santa Clarita Valley resources to balance out any additional future needs.
Currently housed at Battalion 6 headquarters on Citrus Drive in Valencia, a reserve engine will be rebadged as Engine Company 143 and put into service.
The engine formerly served Stevenson Ranch as Engine 124 before being replaced, the battalion chief said.
Station 143 will bring the number of firehouses in the immediate Santa Clarita Valley up to 15, not including Station 77 in Gorman and Station 81 in Agua Dulce.
A grand opening celebration is planned for later in the year.
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