Exploring The Old & The New – LAFD Fire Station 84 In Woodland Hills

This article is really just an excuse to document the world around us here in Woodland Hills.  Up until September of 2007, Woodland Hills was served by a very small and heavily outdated Fire Station on Canoga Avenue just south of Ventura Blvd, the remains of which are pictured above.  LA DPW Engineering site information about the old Fire Station 84 at 5340 Canoga Avenue:

History
Fire Station 84 is located at 5340 Canoga Ave.  The Station was constructed in 1949 and is approximately 3,230 square feet.  It currently houses a Engine Company staffed by 4 firefighters, and a Paramedic Rescue staffed by 2 Paramedics.  Fire Station 84’s district (eight square miles) is known for having large areas of heavy brush in close proximity to expensive homes.  Warner Center high-rise buildings are also in Fire Station 84’s district. When the station was built, the area was primarily a farming community.

Reason for Project
The fire station was built to house 4 firefighters and is beyond its capacity.  A separate garage houses the Engine and the Rescue Ambulance parks outside on the front apron  The facility can not house the resources needed to meet present and expected growth of the community.  The current site is too small to accommodate expansion to a Regional Fire/Paramedic Station.

Evaluation Of Current Facility
Areas of deficiencies that were noted by Bureau of Engineering survey determined problems with: space, seismic, heating and air conditioning, electrical, plumbing, building code, American Disabilities Act (ADA), fire protection systems, and lack of adequate separate gender facilities.

Additional LAFD blog info about the old facility:

Built in 1949 on Canoga Avenue just south of Ventura Boulevard, the 3,230 square-foot former fire station was truly a fire ‘house’ with an adjacent apparatus building (barn) meant to serve a then largely agricultural community surrounded by rolling hills.

The former Fire Station was designed to house no more than four male firefighters and one limited-role (now antique) fire apparatus. The addition of Firefighter/Paramedics and mixed gender crews in recent years brought the challenge of housing at least 6 men and women per shift in cramped quarters and the need to park the Paramedic Ambulance outdoors.

LAFD blogged about the new facility:

Because the property beneath old Fire Station 84 was too small to support a new or revamped facility, Proposition F of November 2000 now provides an efficient and appealing long-term asset for the community.

Groundbreaking for the new station on Burbank Boulevard took place on September 9, 2004. The $16.1 million facility was first opened for public service on September 18, 2007.

Situated on approximately two acres of land, new Fire Station 84 consists of a 15,250 square foot Station House, a 6,000 square foot Apparatus Storage Facility and a 2,500 square foot Multipurpose Room. The new station was expressly designed to support Department and community needs for decades to come, and is expected to serve as an operational base for the LAFD’s popular Support Service Volunteer Program.

The energy efficient seven-bay facility features an important “drive through” feature that prevents the need to block traffic on Burbank Boulevard when rehousing vehicles.

The ability of Fire Station 84 personnel to host community functions and training events in the new station’s community room will allow Neighborhood Firefighters an even closer and more productive relationship with those they proudly serve.

The new facility was designed by Killefer Flammang Architects, as was a very similar facility in Northridge (Fire Station 87).  They have great images of the facility on their website.

It’s almost amazing that with the development of Warner Center in the 80s and 90s that the old Fire Station 84 lasted as long as it did!  Man,  that place is indeed a relic.

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• Supplemental Link: City of LA Fire Station 84 History/Project Site, LAFD Fire Station 84 Grand Opening Blog, Killefer Flammang Gallery & Info