New fire station breaks ground

RANCHO SANTA FE — The Rancho Santa Fe Fire Protection District broke ground at 6424 El Apajo, the site of the new Fairbanks Ranch Fire Station, on July 1. On hand at the groundbreaking were the Fire District board of directors James Ashcraft, Thomas Hickerson, Nancy Hillgren, Randall Malin, and John C. Tanner, as well as the District Fire Chief Nicholas Pavone. representatives from Fairbanks Ranch Communities, Jeff Katz Architecture, Ledcor Construction, Inc., and Shapouri Civil Engineering.
The RSFFPD first opened the Fairbanks Ranch Fire Station, commonly referred to as Station 3, in 1984 in the community of Fairbanks Ranch, located across the road from the Helen Woodward Animal Hospital. In February of this year, this station was torn down to make way for a new fire station. Since then, firefighters have occupied temporary facilities, located behind Horizon Christian Fellowship Church, comprised of a doublewide trailer, which serves as their living quarters, and a portable shelter enclosure, which houses firefighting apparatus and equipment.
Unlike the old fire station, the new building is designed to the state’s Essential Services Facilities Standard, which requires construction to withstand a significant seismic event. The new fire station will be built on a 0.86-acre site and consist of a two-story, 10,928-square-foot building with a two-bay drive-through apparatus room, workshop, laundry, clean room and captain’s office on the first floor. The second floor living quarters include six firefighter dorms, a day room, a kitchen and dining area, a study and a fitness room. Three firefighters will be assigned to this station on a daily basis with one fire engine and one brush engine.