New Fire Station to Be Built in City Limits

When fire alarms sound in Agoura Hills, residents usually rely on county firefighters from the Cornell Road station in rural Agoura to cross the Ventura Freeway and douse the flames.

But what would happen, some have asked, if an earthquake were to damage highway overpasses, cutting off firefighters’ access to the city?

Such concerns will be put to rest by the construction of a fire station in Agoura Hills, the first within the city’s borders, officials said this week.

“We’re going to improve response times by moving this into the city of Agoura Hills,” said Assistant Fire Chief Stephen Alexander. Officials expect to hire an architect within six weeks. Construction of the station, which will include a training classroom, is estimated to take 16 to 18 months.

“Having a fire station closer to where you live is always good news,” said Dan Kuperberg, mayor pro tem of Agoura Hills.

The Cornell Road station, the main facility serving Agoura Hills, is sometimes aided by other stations from Westlake Village and Oak Park, Alexander said.

The proposed 4,000-square-foot fire station will be built on the north side of the freeway, on a 3.25-acre site on Canwood Street, between Kanan Road and Strawberry Hill Drive.

“We’re building it big enough for the future because there is going to be more growth in the area,” Alexander said. “We build our stations to last 50 years.”

Alexander estimated the cost of the new facility between $1.3 million and $1.7 million.