Old Costa Mesa fire training tower to be extinguished, new one’s going up soon

City and state leaders joined the Costa Mesa Fire and Rescue team Friday morning for the groundbreaking ceremony of a new training tower facility located at Fire Station No. 4.

The new building was made possible with $3.5 million in city capital improvement funds and $2.5 million of state budget funding, according to city officials. The 57-year-old existing tower will be demolished to make way for the project.

The 57-year-old existing Costa Mesa Fire Department tower is scheduled to be demolished this month due to deterioration.

(Susan Hoffman)

State Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris spoke about the importance of the Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue Regional Training Center in equipping firefighters and recruits to handle multiple challenges during fire and rescue operations in the city and region.

“My No. 1 job is to protect the public and my first responsibility is to insure that you have the best possible supplies and equipment. This has been a phenomenal team effort,” said Petrie-Norris, who secured $2.5 million in state money for the project.

Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris addresses attendees during a groundbreaking ceremony at the Costa Mesa Fire Department Training Tower on Friday.

(Susan Hoffman)

Costa Mesa City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison spoke on the city’s obligation as a premier public safety district in the entire state.

“We are thankful for our leadership that secured millions of dollars for the state-of-the-art project that will provide help to the entire region of Orange County.”

Costa Mesa Mayor John Stephens surveyed the crowd of about 50 people and said he was pleased to see the show of support toward the fire department from every department in the city.

“It’s so great to be here for this groundbreaking and see this major project move from funding to groundbreaking and soon to ribbon-cutting,” Stephens said.

Caliba Inc. construction crew members, from left, Eric Radewahn, equipment share; Jonathan Kliora, director of operations; Adam Othman, owner; and Paul Vasquez, foreman, attend the Costa Mesa Fire Department tower groundbreaking.

(Susan Hoffman)

Also on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony was Adam Othman, owner of a local contracting business, Caliba Inc., which will begin demolishing the existing tower and asphalt surrounding the building this month. Othman noted that the aging structure is literally falling apart.

“We want to keep our firefighters safe when they’re training,” said Othman. “The concrete’s cracked and falling apart, there are 2-by-4s used to hold up the stair tower inside. There’s holes in the walls, exposed rebar inside and outside the building.”

Othman added that his company will be working directly with WHP Trainingtowers, based in Kansas City, Mo., who will be erecting the tower.

In a written statement, Costa Mesa Fire Chief Dan Stefano said, “Our new state of the art fire and rescue regional training facility will be one of the most incredibly valuable public safety infrastructure training assets not only for us here in Costa Mesa, but more importantly, for our entire region, providing our professional firefighters and fire service professionals with the highest quality of training resources and tools available to serve our community, our region, and our statewide interests at our absolute best.”