Fire Station History

The disaster of October 1991 spawned a number of investigations and initiatives. One such activity was a citizens advisory group guiding the City Manager's Office on fire zone recovery and disaster planning for future events. Out of that group came the legislation that became the Measure I Bond, which proposed to finance a number of emergency preparedness meas- ures. After debating with City officials as to whether a North Hills station was needed, whether there was a place for it and so on, the citizens advisory group successfully advocated placing the fire station on the bond\quotes list of projects. The bond passed with overwhelming support throughout the City.

The directions from the City Council to the City Manager on this project included a stricture that the new station be a multi-jurisdiction development to serve, and be funded by, Oakland and Berkeley. East Bay Parks and the University of California were also invited to participate. The ensuing official discussions took two paths.

One discussion collected the joint requirements each agency had for the station while the other considered locations. The location options quickly settled down to four sites. The most popular with the residents was at the four-way intersection of Claremont, Grizzly Peak Blvd. and Fish Ranch Road. The other sites were further north, albeit it within Oakland, at the behest of Berkeley. However there was no immediate agreement.

Meanwhile, the list of features expanded. At one point the proposed station included a depot for post-earthquake supplies, a helipad, a natural history room and community meeting rooms. Naturally, the price of the facility exceeded the money allocated for it. The only site that could accommodate such a grand facility lacked power and water and would require considerable grading on an environmentally sensitive plot. This period of discussions lasted almost two years.

Ultimately these discussions lead nowhere. The failure to come to terms on location and the escalating cost of the features resulted in a stalemate. At various times the move toward a new station almost ceased but political pressure ensured that it didn't. During this period, citizen agitation and the now defunct Fire District kept the pressure on the

Oakland Council and its employees to produce a North Oakland Fire Station. The Fire District offered political support to build and funding to operate the station. At one point, the proposed station became leverage to reopen the Grass Valley Station, closed after Proposition 13. Grass Valley has been open during the fire season since 1997.

When a landowner made an offer of a site for the fire station to Oakland in lieu of rebuilding their house, the political decision was finally made to abandon the joint project with the other jurisdictions. The offer of the land was accepted.

When the location of the new site became widely known, there was some neighborhood consternation as to why their area had been chosen and why the other sites had been abandoned. To address those concerns, former Councilmember Sheila Jordan and Fire Chief John Baker (ret.) called a public meeting in October 1995 at St. Theresa's Church in Rockridge.

As soon as the meeting began it became overwhelmingly clear that attendees were less concerned with the site selection process and the location than they were with the fact that, 4 years after the Fire, and 3 years after authorizing funding for a station, no construction had taken place. Even immediate neighbors of the proposed facility were plainly eager to break ground. When Peter Scott stood up to volunteer services (pro bono) as architect, the last concerns about the neighborhood fit and the quality of the facility melted away.

­ Steve Renten

Fire Station 7 Facts

Quarters: Engine 257

Staff: 4 Firefighters

Station Cost: $987,000

Area: 3,600 sq. ft.

Lot Size: 9,700 sq. ft.

Architects: Peter Gray Scott

Steve Kodama, Associate

Project Managers: Diego Garcia & Jose Gonzalez

Artist: Scott Constable