
By Brian Park
Local elected officials and community members joined with the Orange County Fire Authority on Friday, March 7 to take part in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new fire station that will be built in the developing Rancho Mission Viejo community.
The station, designated as Fire Station No. 56, will be located off Antonio Parkway and Sendero Way, in Rancho Mission Viejo’s first village, Sendero. Construction is expected to begin in March. When the station is open for operation in January 2015, it will serve Rancho Mission Viejo, Ladera Ranch and the eastern parts of San Juan Capistrano.
The station will be approximately 10,000 square feet and will sit on a one-acre site that was dedicated to OCFA by the Rancho Mission Viejo Company. The station will include three apparatus bays and eight dorm rooms to house two fire companies. It will also include a paramedic assessment unit with three firefighters with “room to grow,” according to a release.
The ceremony was attended by Mayor Sam Allevato, who is also an OCFA board member, as well as Orange County Supervisor Pat Bates and Rancho Mission Viejo owner Tony Moiso. OCFA officials included Fire Chief Keith Richter and Division 3 Chief Kirk Wells.