Stearns Park house fire proves Los Altos has a fire engine problem..

Los Altos Center Adjacent Neighborhoods and Los Altos Center businesses lost the closest fire engine (water carrier)  from Station 17 by Stearns Park due to budget cuts

     LBReport.com picture by John Jayes-more pictures on LBreport

LB Report.com has a story (LB Home Burns Across Street From Fire Stn 17 ) about the results of a very late night fire ACROSS THE STREET from Fire Station 17 this week (CLICK here for story and photos: LBREPORT ).  

Fire Station 17 does not have a water carrying "fire engine" located at the station.  With the removal of the water carrying "fire engine" from Station 17, the closest water carrying fire engine to the Los Altos Center businesses and neighborhoods now comes from Station 22 at Atherton and Palo Verde Streets by CSULB.  Los Altos residents are keenly aware of how impacted the CSULB area surface streets get at certain times of the day.

Map of LACAN ( in blue)  with surrounding Fire Stations

When Engine 22 (Atherton/Palo Verde) is unavailable, LACAN's nearest fire engine would come from Station 19 (near Vet's Stadium) or Station 5 (on Wardlow in El Dorado Park).  

It should be notes that Engine 22 is a "paramedic assessment" engine company, meaning that a firefighter-paramedic rides aboard the fire engine. That designation requires the engine company respond to medical emergencies in addition to fires. That includes local freeway accident emergencies. When Engine 22 is on any type of an emergency call ( or otherwise unavailable), the closest water carrying fire engines to the Los Altos neighborhoods are Engines 5 and 19. 

Station 5 is on Wardlow Road in El Dorado Park and Station 19 is on Clark Ave.  near Vet's Stadium. The engine company from Station 18 at Wardlow and Palo Verde (much closer than Station 5-see map) was also eliminated a few years ago in a round of budget cuts.