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Published on 08/24/1998 All articles from this issue

Loyola fire-station remodel moves ahead

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue

Town Crier Staff Writer

It may not look like it from the street. But, even though the Loyola Fire Station is gutted and in the midst of an extensive remodel, the firefighters and fire equipment are on site and ready for business as usual.

During the station retrofit and upgrade, firefighters are living in a double-wide mobile home parked on a rear corner of the lot that faces Foothill Expressway. Behind that is the station's fire engine, sitting in readiness on an asphalt pad.

The portable "is not a palace, but it's livable," said Capt. Don Jarvis, with the Santa Clara County Fire Department. County Fire provides fire service to Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. The city of Los Altos owns the station and leases it to County Fire.

Even though a broiling summer sun baked the outside of the portable station on a recent August day, air conditioners kept the inside comfortable.

The remodel and retrofit, which began in July, should be complete in five to six months, said Bruce Bane, director of public works for the city of Los Altos.

Two issues prompted the station project, Jarvis said: the need for a seismic upgrade and privacy issues.

The new station, in a 600-square-foot addition, will have two separate bathrooms, to accommodate male and female firefighters, as well as separate sleeping quarters, Bane said.

The old station had only one bathroom and "an open dorm," Jarvis said. Working out of the station under those conditions, "would have been tough," he said.

The new station will have three sleeping spaces, each with two beds.

When the work is finished, "the outside won't look much different," Jarvis said.

The old station, built in 1953, was kept in service "until the moment we moved in" to the portable, Jarvis said. "Then we just flicked a switch" and all power and alarms and computers were on.

The folks at County Fire are old hands at station remodels. They bought the portable used, refurbished it, and hauled it around to the district's 16 stations as needed for station upgrades.

Total cost of the project is estimated at $549,000.