The current 19,000-square-foot headquarters will be demolished. District officials have said the facility, built in 1941 and expanded in the 1960s and 1980s, is obsolete, cramped and prone to roof leaks. Firefighters currently change into their gear in bays, just a few inches from trucks as they prepare to respond to calls, officials said.
The new firehouse will be constructed on the site of the current facility and will have new storage space and a separate room where firefighters can change into their gear, district officials said.
Campo said the new facility will have a training room and space for the department's emergency medical technicians. Truck bays will be wider, and the new building will have a washer and dryer system to clean fire gear of contaminants that collect on firefighter uniforms.