TUSTIN : City’s Third County Fire Station Opens

The Orange County Fire Department opened a new station Friday at 11490 Pioneer Road in response to growth in eastern Tustin.

The facility, known as Station 43, becomes the third county fire station within the Tustin city limits. The city is also served by a station on Skyline Drive in an unincorporated part of the county. Tustin is one of 17 cities that contracts fire services from the county.

Fire Chief Larry Holms said development in the Peters Canyon area, including the construction of high-density apartments, created a need for the new station. The station also will serve a small area of Irvine.

Station 43, which is near Tustin Ranch and Jamboree roads, is open 24 hours a day. It is equipped with one fire engine operated by a three-person crew. The station also serves as a battalion chief headquarters.

All of the firefighters assigned to the facility are trained as emergency medical technicians, Holms said.

The new station is the county Fire Department’s 49th, department spokeswoman Kathleen Cha said. Stations are numbered by location, not by their date of opening, she said. The county’s 50th station, Station 6 in Irvine, is scheduled to be in operation within the next few months, Cha added.

A formal dedication ceremony for the new Tustin station is tentatively planned for early September. Holms said.

“It’s a very nice facility,” he said. “We’re still unpacking stuff and getting situated, and they will be doing that for several days, I’m sure, before getting fully operational. There’s lots you do before you invite guests over.”