Officials Break Ground on New Peninsula Fire Station

MENLO PARK, CA – A new fire station for the Menlo Park Fire Protection District is officially under construction, as officials broke ground on a new fire station Monday.

A ceremony took place at 11:30 a.m. at 700 Oak Grove Ave. to formally mark Fire Station 6's groundbreaking, an effort that has been more than nine years in the making.

According to fire officials, the effort to build a new station began in late 2007. Here's the history of the project, in the words of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District:

That effort first started in late 2007 by validating that the fire station was in the proper strategic location. Fortunately it was, but unfortunately it would have to be enlarged in order to support modern emergency deployment that requires a drive through station for safety, a seismically safe engineering design and a modern infrastructure that can support more personnel and apparatus, for the next 65 – 70 years, which the existing site could not accommodate. So the adjoining property and home behind the Station were purchased in 2008 and re-zoned.

The project slowed and stalled during the worldwide recession as the District tightened its belt and focused all of its resources on finishing Fire Station 2, in East Palo Alto. In November 2016, the Fire Board authorized the Fire Chief to move forward with the rebuilding of the fire station and awarded General Contractor Gonsalves and Stronck (G&S) a “not to exceed” contract for $7,547,400.00, as the lowest, qualified, bidder.

The contractors agreement also favors the use of American made products which slightly added to the cost of the contract.

“We did the same thing on Fire Station 2 in East Palo Alto, only slightly more refined in this process” Fire Chief Schapelhouman said “We truly believe and feel that public facilities and projects should prioritize the use of American made products and manufacturing."

The old Fire Station 6 was opened in 1953, two years after a new main fire station was opened in 1951 next door too Saint Patricks’ Seminary on Middlefield Road. The original main fire station was built in 1920, it was located near downtown Menlo Park where Café Borrone and Keplers Book Store currently reside in Menlo Center. The Station 6 site was supposed to be the location of the main fire station, but its size was opposed by neighbors, so a smaller station was built in 1956 and additional land was sold off.

In December 2016, the old fire station was torn down, paving the way for Monday’s event. The entire project is scheduled to be completed by 2018. Station 6 is the second busiest fire station in the District, it responded to 1269 emergencies in 2016 and provides emergency services to portions of Atherton and Menlo Park, including downtown.

PHOTO: Retired Fire/Engineer Dave Carr watches as the 64 year old Fire Station 6 get torn down in December to make way for a new modern and safer facility, CREDIT: Menlo Park Fire Protection District