By Tammy Murga
Signal Staff Writer
Construction of the new home for Fire Station 104 is officially underway as city and county officials gathered Thursday for the groundbreaking.
“We have become a big city from three decades ago, and this new fire station is going to go a long way to providing the best possible service for city and county residents,” Santa Clarita Mayor Laurene Weste said to the crowd during the ceremony.
The site is at 26901 Golden Valley Road, near Newhall Ranch Road. Just south from there on Golden Valley Road was its original location, but is now the construction site of the new Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, which celebrated its groundbreaking late last month.
Since April, services out of Fire Station 104 have temporarily relocated to Fire Station 150.
With 11,000 square feet, the station will house as many as nine fire personnel, apparatus space, a training and exercise room, a kitchen and central office.
Its design, which will incorporate water- and energy-smart systems is “critical in its location and size,” said Mark Pestrella, Los Angeles County director of Public Works.
“It’s a critical facility to the community and those that inhabit it have to be protected as well,” he added. “This building should be here after a major earthquake and after a major fire.”
A civic art component, designed by Martinez Architects Inc., will also be incorporated.
The project cost is estimated at $14 million.
Weste and county Supervisor Kathryn Barger both said they were proud of the coming of Fire Station 104.
“I know the new station is a necessity of the SCV and to properly house our firefighters,” Barger said. “Fire Station 104 will be a fixture in the community and serve as a home base for our extraordinary team.”
Construction commenced in late July and the station is slated to open for service in September 2019, according to Pestrella.
