As passersby near the intersection of Highway 9 and Big Basin Way must have noticed in recent weeks, the new fire station is near completion. By the end of this month, all of the department's firefighters and administrative staff will start working in the new and improved station.

The fire station will feature double the space of its predecessor, amounting to almost 13,000 square feet. With the space going up, there are new facilities for firefighters, paramedics and administrative staff.

Dedication ceremonies for the new building will be held on Sept. 17 from 3 to 6 p.m., and the department will hold an open house on Sept. 18 from noon to 4 p.m. so that residents can tour the new facility.

"We have more space for people, we have more space for apparatus and we have more space for training," said Assistant Fire Chief Ron Vega. He said that the new station would help serve the community better and was equipped to meet the future needs of the city.

All firefighters will have separate bedrooms, unlike the previous station where accommodations had to be shared. There are five bathrooms and four showers. The previous building had one bathroom and one shower. A separate bathroom for women has also been installed.

There is a much larger kitchen area and a dining room.

The two-story station also has a fire pole and a narrow staircase with handrails on both sides to enable firefighters to rush out in case of an emergency. And it also has a place on the second floor where the firefighters can barbecue food.

A bell—dating back to the 19th century and first used on a tower on Fourth Street and then displayed on Oak Street—is being moved to the front of the building.

The Saratoga Fire Department started as a volunteer force in 1895. A butcher, a baker and a blacksmith were the first volunteers of the Saratoga Hose Company. The Saratoga Fire District was incorporated in 1924 but it remained a volunteer force. The next year, the department bought its first fire truck, a Model T Ford that was equipped to carry hose.

In 1953, the department started using three-way radios to communicate. The radios were installed in the trucks. The Saratoga garage that housed the fire station was purchased by the department in 1953. The first firefighter was hired in 1965. Several other firefighters were hired in the next few years.

In the 1970s, the department hired a full-time fire chief, Ernie Kraule, who until then had served as a volunteer. This was also the decade when paramedics and emergency medical services became part of the fire department.

Discussions around building the new firehouse started in the late '90s. The Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 had damaged the structure, a remodeled remnant of the old Saratoga garage.

The election for the bond measure was held on April 11, 2000, and voters overwhelmingly approved Measure F to help pay for the new station.

"This new building was really needed, especially after the Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the old building severely," said Fire Chief Gordon Duncan. "We had been applying one Band-Aid solution after the other for many, many years."

Duncan reminisced about the time when he had to share office space with others and there was absolutely no privacy. "I used to tell my colleagues that my office is wherever my laptop is," said Duncan.

Then the first plan was rejected by the Saratoga City Council. Some neighbors took the city to court, and the delay resulted in a significant cost overrun.

"We had to totally redesign the building. It took a lot of money and time," said Duncan. The redesign and the delay cost about $1.5 million, according to the fire chief. "And we received no waivers from the city in terms of building codes."

The new fire station has a setback of 59 feet from the sidewalk. This will allow a truck to turn around inside the station without going onto a public road.

The new station, like the old one, is located at one of the busiest intersections in Saratoga. "Except for one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon, traffic flows normally all day near the intersection, and the firetrucks would not cause a major disruption. We looked at purchasing land, but it was just not available," said Duncan.

Assistant Fire Chief Vega stressed that the station was ideally located and was near major arterial roads. "The building is up to current code and it would be much easier for firefighters to perform their job," he said.

"It will be much easier for them to navigate through the building," said Vega.

The new fire station has enough space so that an emergency operation center can be started in the building on short notice. "We can have a local operations center. We also have the technology to facilitate it," said Vega.

Both Vega and Duncan said that they were excited that the community could now be part of a showpiece fire station. "This has been a long process. It has gone on for years and years. And now the community will have a chance to see what they have invested in. They can see how we live and work," said Vega.

He said that the new building was going to illuminate and add to the charm of downtown Saratoga. "This is new and clean and beautiful," he said.

Chris Stuehler, a paramedic with the Saratoga Fire Department, said that he was glad he would not have to carry around a bucket when it rained and water seeped in through the roof. "We used to collect four or five buckets of water every time it rained," said Stuehler.

"We are excited overall and it will be easy to operate from this new station," said Jeremy Davis, a firefighter.

"There was no separate sleeping quarters for firemen. The old fire station was 50 percent of the size of what was needed," said Jay Geddes, one of the city's fire commissioners. "I think even the temporary fire quarters in the trailer was better than the old building."

"Half the equipment was out in the open before. I am also glad that the medical response and the emergency response is going to be in one place," he added.

Getting the new station was not an easy process, though.

"It was an uphill battle. The union opposed us, the city opposed us and we had to submit two sets of plans to the planning commission," said Geddes. "If it wasn't for all this, the building would have been completed for much cheaper earlier."

"It was a bumpy road," said Kraule. "But the taxpayers are getting more than their money's worth."

Geddes said that the new fire station was in line with other fire stations in the area.

Bob Egan, the chief fire commissioner, said that he would no longer have to worry about the fire station collapsing during an earthquake.

"We have all kinds of new facilities, from the training room to the first-aid room. The firemen can now park their engines on the front apron. Everything is much more functional than before," said Egan. "It's a great location with a beautiful building and we should be proud of it."

Fire Chief Duncan said that the plaza in front of the fire station could become a place where people hang out. He also said many people walk into fire stations when they need first aid. "They trust us. We help them first and ask questions later," said Duncan.

"You cannot even begin to compare the old and the new fire stations," said Kraule. "The old one was an automotive garage that had been converted into a fire station. The living conditions were cramped. It was overcrowded. And studies had showed that it would not hold up during a major earthquake."

Since he retired in February of 2003, Kraule has been acting as the liaison between the fire district and TBI, a management construction company that is in charge of the building.

"The new building is a tribute to the community," said Kraule. "This station is going to serve the community for the next 75 years."

The dedication of the new building takes place on Sept. 17 from 3 to 6 p.m. at the new fire station. The fire department is organizing an open house the next day so that local residents can take a look at the new facility at 14380 Saratoga Ave. The open house and tours take place on Sept. 18 between noon and 4 p.m. For more information, call 408.867.9001. A pancake breakfast is being held earlier that day beginning at 8 a.m.