The official grand opening of new Fire Station 7 drew hundreds of firefighters, parents and children from across the region for a day of speeches, tours, hot dogs, music and family fun.
The opening of the Craftsman-style station at 14630 Plummer St. this summer was heralded as a victory for the San Fernando Valley communities it was meant to serve: Arleta, Panorama City, Pacoima, Mission Hills and North Hills.
The $8.8 million station, built to LEED Silver environmental standards, replaces a 65-year-old firehouse known as the “little house” at Nordhoff Street and Woodman Avenue whose engine once rolled out of a former horse barn.
The 16,000-square-foot station, built to accommodate a future firefighting task force, had also been constructed out of pennies pinched during a citywide fire station construction program. Officials said the building was made possible because of savings incurred during the building of 18 fire stations and emergency air operations center at Van Nuys Airport financed by Proposition F, the fire and animal shelter facilities bond approved by voters in 2000.
Photos by David Blaire and Rick McClure