Laguna Beach embarks on fire station replacement project
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Laguna Beach has begun work on what will become the beachside community’s first new fire station in decades.
Following the project’s approval by the Coastal Commission in August, city officials gathered in December for a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of its construction.
The new station will be built at 31796 Coast Highway, a lot on the northwest corner of the intersection at 5th Avenue. It will replace Fire Station No. 4, located at 31646 2nd Ave. in South Laguna.
The project has a budget of $9.2 million, according to Tom Perez, Laguna Beach’s city engineer. It will include a two-story building of approximately 8,360 square feet. Two public restrooms are to be constructed. City staff anticipate the project will be completed in the spring of 2027.
“The existing station is two apparatus bays,” Perez said. “The proposed is three, so while the staffing and level of service is remaining the same, what we get by adding the bay, we have the ability to have an ambulance and two fire engines in the bays, whereas at the existing Fire Station No. 4, we have the ambulance and one fire engine, and then we have the others parked outside. In the event that the second is needed, there is some response-time savings there.
“It also provides bays that are adequately sized, so adding some height to allow for bigger equipment. As equipment evolves, things tend to get bigger, so it just overall provides better functionality.”
The former dental office at the site has yet to be demolished, city staff said. It was not the first property to be considered for the project.
In August 2021, the city acquired land at 31729 and 31735 Coast Highway for $2.7 million. Residents referred to the land as the Ti Amo property, after the Italian restaurant that had operated at that location.
The city pivoted from that plan when it purchased the parcel at 31796 Coast Highway for $6.1 million in January 2023. Laguna Beach then sold the Ti Amo parcels for $3.55 million.
“It was a long process, but in the end, we didn’t sacrifice anything operationally,” Fire Chief Niko King said. “We will have enough apparatus space, tall enough ceilings to actually open up the apparatus and the compartments and the hose bed on top when it’s in the station.”
King said he felt it was imperative that crews be able to respond out onto Coast Highway, citing efficiency and safety benefits.
“The design layout is for firefighters to have the comforts of a modern fire station, with the intercom systems, the technology, the correct layout so you can get to the apparatus quickly,” King added. “The stuff that is going to house our protective gear, the stuff that gets contaminated on fires, we don’t bring it back into the living quarters because it’s separated correctly.”
The new fire station is expect to house one fire crew and one ambulance crew for a total of six personnel each shift.
Project phases include demolition of the existing structure, construction of a retaining wall, and then building and site improvements, Perez said.
Rancho fire reimbursement
In related action, the Laguna Beach City Council authorized a payment of $115,905.40 as reimbursement to the Orange County Fire Authority for its role in responding to the Rancho fire.
A mutual aid agreement between the city and OCFA dictates that the city is to reimburse the cost of specialized services, including helicopters and retardant tankers.
Four air tankers dropped retardant on the flames, which ignited in the afternoon of July 7. Rotating helicopters also dropped water on the fire.
At the time of the council’s Dec. 9 meeting, a staff report noted the city had approximately $7.1 million in its disaster contingency fund.
“The quick response force helicopters, they’re extremely expensive, but on the onset of a fire where property and lives are going to be threatened, the state has learned that you lean forward and send those resources fast to keep the fire small,” King said. “That’s exactly what happened on our incident, where that fire was raging up the hill, and we were about to lose property, but those air resources showed up at the right time. We had enough of them to get enough drops and contain that fire before we started losing homes.”
The city is continuing to pursue restitution from all parties responsible for starting the Rancho fire. Authorities arrested a 13-year-old boy after a video showed the teen igniting a firework in the area where the fire broke out.
The incident initially led to some evacuation orders, but officials said there was no loss of life or property.
Water-saving training unit
Laguna Beach successfully applied for grant funding from the Water Savings Incentive Program to be put toward the purchase of a mobile draft water reduction unit.
The Pump-Pod USA apparatus recirculates water while firefighters train, which city staff noted could reduce water waste by up to 1.3 million gallons per year.
Grant funding will cover $88,220 of the total cost of $110,275 for the Pump-Pod unit up front, with an additional $22,055 to be reimbursed to the city following a six-month monitoring period.
King noted the unit is being used for training at the parking lot on the inland side of Aliso Beach, as a permanent location has not been determined.
“We have to flow water to [train firefighters],” King said. “We want to test the hydrants, the engines, the hose lines, the firefighters handling the hose lines, but when we do that, we are using the city’s water. The idea of the Pump-Pod is that we’re able to get the water into the pod, and then it recirculates and reuses the water between the fire engine and the hose lines.”
