99 Centennial
Los Alamos, CA 93440
805-934-6215

Station 24s area is roughly bordered in the North by the Solomon Grade on US Highway 101 or the 9000 block of Foxen Canyon Road. In the South it extends to a area just North of State Highway 154. In the East it goes out to Zaca Lake and in the West it extends to San Antonio Road and State Highway 135

Staffing

Station 24 is a dedicated Advanced Life Support (ALS) station and is staffed by one Captain, one Engineer, and one Firefighter/Paramedic.
Battalion 2 (North Battalion) office/quarters is located here as well.
Station 24 is also home to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department’s Construction Section, which includes fire-suppression resources such as heavy equipment dozers, a swamper, and tractor-trailer transports.

History

Station 24 serves a community rich in Western lore. The hills above Rancho Los Alamos served as a hideout for the notorious but popular bandito, Solomon Pico, whose escapades were popularized by the character “Zorro”. During the USA’s centennial year of 1876, Thomas Bell along with his nephew John S. Bell, and Dr. James B. Shaw, purchased acreage from Rancho Los Alamos and neighboring Rancho La Laguna. Both families allocated a half square mile from each of their new ranches to create the Los Alamos town site with “Centennial Street” as the central thoroughfare.
The Los Alamos Valley prospered and grew quickly serving as a popular stagecoach stop from 1861-1901. The Union Hotel opened in 1880 to serve overnight travelers. The narrow-gauge Pacific Coast Railway also ran to Los Alamos from San Luis Obispo between 1882-1940 and the last standing station is still here. Oil was discovered nearby beginning in 1901, providing more economic prosperity. The town flagpole at Centennial and Bell Street was dedicated in 1918. Today, residents still pick-up their mail from the tiny Post Office downtown, as no street delivery is available, and Miles of vineyards ribbon the hillsides surrounding the town.

In July 1954, the old Los Alamos Fire District (formed in 1928) received two lots in the town of Los Alamos (near the intersection of Centennial and Leslie Streets) from John and Agnes Parma through a quitclaim deed. A few years later, in March of 1957, the County and the Los Alamos Fire district agreed to jointly build a fire station at the site. In January of 1958, the station was completed and was initially occupied by one County Firefighter and Los Alamos volunteers. Housing became an issue years later when the Station was staffed by full-time professional firefighters.
The duplex was used as living units by County Fire’s married personnel, whose wives would work at the station as dispatchers for their respective districts. Currently the old duplex living units are used as office space for the Department’s Construction Division and as quarters for the North Battalion Chief.