Plans for Menlo Park's New Fire Station Move Forward

MENLO PARK, CA — Downtown Menlo Park will be getting a new fire station, Menlo Park Fire Protection District officials announced Thursday.

On Tuesday, the district's board authorized the rebuilding of Fire Station 6 at 700 Oak Grove Ave.

The $7.55 million contract to rebuild the station was awarded to general contractor Gonsalves and Stronck, fire district officials said.

The firefighters assigned to the station have moved out of the old fire station and into a residential structure on Hoover Street behind the station. The firefighters will continue to operate there until the new fire
station is built, according to the fire district.

The current fire station is 64 years old and in need of replacement.

"I'll be happy to see us tear down the old station and start construction by the end of the year," Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman said in a statement. "It's been a long, rough road to get to this point."

In 2007, the fire district determined the station's current location best met its strategic deployment needs, but the station would need to be enlarged to support more personnel and apparatus. In 2008, the district
acquired the structure directly behind the station.

— Bay City News Service / Image via city of Menlo Park