Buena Park Fire-Station Heavily Damaged, Vehicles Lost in Blaze, OCFA Said

BUENA PARK, CA — An early morning fire roused Buena Park firefighters from their Knotts Berry Farm station Thursday, though it was their home-station that was ablaze according to Capt. Larry Kurtz, of the Orange County Fire Authority.

Over one million in equipment and vehicles were lost in the blaze.

Firefighters Thursday were working to fully extinguish a stubborn two-alarm fire that heavily damaged the Buena Park Fire Station near Knott's Berry Farm and destroyed three fire department vehicles and a swiftwater rescue boat, authorities said.

The blaze broke out at just before 3:45 a.m. at the station at 8000 block of Western Ave., said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Larry Kurtz.

"All the firefighters inside the Fire Authority station, which houses eight firefighters and one battalion chief, evacuated safely. Some members of that crew were out on a call at the time the fire broke out," Kurtz said.

Sixty-four firefighters sent to the scene were working to fully extinguish the flames nearly four hours after the fire broke out, Kurtz said. Authorities closed Western Avenue in both directions during the battle, which amounted to the total uninhabitable structure, and complete loss of much equipment and many official vehicles.

"Destroyed in the fire were a 100-foot aerial ladder truck, a battalion chief's Chevrolet SUV, a fire department pickup truck, and a swiftwater rescue boat," Kurtz said.

The cause of the fire was under investigation, and a damage estimate was being tallied.

The fire station, which was heavily damaged, likely will be out of service "for some time," Kurtz said.

"The structural stability of the station is so bad we will need to shore up the walls before investigators can even go inside," he said.

The 50-year-old building was opened in 1966 and carries a lot of great memories for firefighters who worked there, according to Kurtz.

"This was not a place to show up and 9 and leave at 5," he said. "A third of the firefighters' lives are spent there, along with keepsakes, memorabilia, family photos and everything else that brings the comforts of home."

This is not the first time a fire station has burned, Kurtz said, and there is no word as to where the fire began in the building as of this report.