Menlo Park Fire Protection District
Fire Station 1
Fire Station 1
The District is exploring the future development of the Fire Station 1 property. The District acquired 1.01 acres adjacent to Fire Station 1 from the Roman Catholic Church in 2018 for $6.6 million. The lot acquired has been merged with the existing lot to form a 1.96-acre lot. The District contracted with PBK Architects, Inc. in FY 23-24 for the preparation of various conceptual designs for the development of the site to include a new fire station, a training facility, and possibly an administration building, which could include office space for both administration and fire prevention staff, storage of equipment and supplies, and a new classroom/board room. In June 2024 the Board of Directors selected a conceptual design to include all of the forementioned buildings which is estimated at $121 million. In FY 24-25, PBK Architects will be tasked with preparing the schematic designs and design development documents for the planning submittal. The project is estimated to be completed in March 2032.
Fire Station 1 has the primary response areas of the City of Menlo Park, the Town of Atherton, and unincorporated County areas. Assigned to Fire Station 1 are Engine 1 and Squad 401. In addition to its primary response area, all stations can be called for mutual aid to the City of Palo Alto fulfilling assignments in accordance with a District/Palo Alto mutual aid plan. Staffed units at this station include Engine 1 with a captain and two firefighters, one being a qualified engineer, and Squad 401 with a captain and one qualified engineer /paramedic. Each unit has at least one licensed paramedic providing advanced life support services.
Fire Station #1 Conceptual Design Project
The District is exploring the future development of the Fire Station 1 property. The development of the site could include a new fire station, a training facility, and an administration building which may include office space for both administration and fire prevention staff, storage of equipment and supplies, and a new classroom/board room.
In 2012, the District hired CH2M Hill to evaluate the District’s facilities. Fire Station 1 which was constructed in 1955, was listed in fair condition and identified as having an original life expectancy of 35 years. The station has ongoing issues with water penetration. A new fire station is needed to address ongoing maintenance issues, as well as space needs issues and to incorporate smart alerting and safety improvements, such as having drive-through capability. In 2021, the District had the training tower evaluated by MLA Structural Engineers, Inc. which identified that the tower is unsafe in its current condition due to dry rot and would require a seismic retrofit. The training tower is a critical component of the District’s safety personnel training program. The construction of a new, multi-story tower will allow the Fire District to properly train and prepare staff for the challenges and difficulties experienced in multi-story structures and other environments. Challenges associated with multi-story structures include proper search and rescue techniques, advancement of hose lines aloft, other physical difficulties, and technical fire ground operations. In addition, a newly designed multi-story training tower with a sub-surface basement is needed to adequately prepare firefighters for the challenges faced in certain types of emergencies.
In 2022, the District was notified by PG&E that PG&E may in the future expand its operations at the District’s training site located at the PG&E substation adjacent to Highway 84. The proposed expansion would reduce the District’s training capabilities at this location in half. The District proposes constructing a new training facility at Fire Station 1 in order to address the structural concerns of the existing training tower and the potential loss of training functions at the PG&E substation.
The development of the site will also include office space for administration and fire prevention staff along with a new classroom/board room/District Operations Center, a storage building, and underground parking. The District has outgrown the office space at 170 Middlefield Road and 114 Santa Margarita and additional office space is needed to accommodate existing and future staffing. In June 2024 the Board of Directors approved the project which is estimated at $121 million. The project is estimated to be completed by March 2032. Upon completion of the project and relocation of staff, the properties at 170 Middlefield road and 114 Santa Margarita avenue can be repurposed or sold.