City of La Habra Heights Comes Full Circle for Firefighters
La Habra Heights — After nearly a decade City officials and residents here are celebrating the opening of a new dormitory unit that also serves as the living quarters for the City’s volunteer fire department. The previous modular housing unit was donated by the City of Santa Fe Springs to La Habra Heights under the administration of then Fire Chief Bob Wilson back in the ninety’s. The goal was to provide housing for non-resident volunteer firefighters
The replacement of the firefighters living quarters with another modest modular unit is in sharp contrast to what the La Habra Heights City Council proposed back in 2005. The lofty plan was to build a new Civic Center Complex that included a new fire station and required the City’s only fire station to move north to a City purchased parcel at Hacienda and West.
Various reports placed the cost of the project to exceed $7.8 million. Prompting residents to cry foul and question the lavish facility proposed by the City Council. While most residents agreed the firefighters deserved better living quarters many protested the attachment of a new City office building and Council Chambers. A number of residents, especially those who would see increased response times, questioned the logic of moving essential fire and rescue services further away from areas of the City already experiencing longer waits for emergency service. Particularly, due to the fact that the City operates only one fire station which serves the entire community.
Incoming La Habra Heights Fire Chief Gary Dominquez, who served as Battalion Chief for Fullerton Fire Department, was pleased to tour the new facilities for his future firefighters.
The City Council ultimately spent a reported $1.1 million on the fire station project, including the purchase of surplus land from Los Angeles County, several architects, numerous consultants and countless staff hours, only to come full circle and replace the living quarters onto the original site for an additional $400,000 in construction costs.
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