Heights station opens

With the roar of commercial planes taking off, and the blare of fire engine sirens responding to emergencies in the distance, the new Santa Ana Heights Fire Station officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday.

The neighborhood sure is loud, but the firefighters don’t seem to mind after they took stock of all the new goodies available in their new home away from home.

The ceremony kicked off with speeches from Fire Chief Steve Lewis, Mayor Steve Rosansky, Councilwoman Leslie Daigle, City Manager Homer Bludau and Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach.

Lewis was given a 10-gallon hat by the Santa Ana Heights Project Advisory Committee and some friendly words from Committee Chairwoman Barbara Venezia.

“This is our thanks to the kind of guys that are running in when we’re all running out,” Venezia said.

The station was named after former Capt. Randy Scheerer, who died in December of 2003 of a heart attack in his Mission Viejo home. Scheerer’s wife was there to accept the honor.

“He was one of the greatest teachers and instructors we ever had,” Lewis said.

It’s been a long stretch of planning and budgeting, but now the city has a new firehouse, sporting all new gadgets, a brick-red paint job and an equestrian design to match the surrounding neighborhood.

Also, there’s a community room, training tower and 2.3 acres of spaces for outdoor exercises.

The station was designed with teamwork, utility and space in mind. For instance, the new kitchen, with three refrigerators, two entrances and more-than-enough counter space, keeps things open for everyone to lend a helping hand with meals, said Division Chief Paul Matheis, who worked closely on the firehouse’s design.

“Used to be when one guy was making food in the kitchen everyone else was doing other stuff,” Matheis said. Now, with the new design “people are less likely to sit in the Lazy Boy and get in and help the cook.”

Next to the kitchen there’s a day-time recreation room that holds recliners and a flat-screen television that can show training videos and, of course, offer some entertainment for downtime between calls.

Speaking of training, the drill tower — which is separated from the station and still under construction — was designed in accordance with various buildings firefighters would have to deal with during a blaze, Matheis said.

“What we’ve tried to incorporate are varying training techniques,” Matheis said, adding the tower simulates high-rise corporate structures with flat roofs and indoor stairwells, A-frames and two-story homes, which are prevalent on the west side of town.

“You’re going to see a lot of training here now, “Matheis said.

And Matt Brisbois, the city’s community preparedness coordinator, finally has a permanent home for the Community Emergency Response Team program. The first class meets Thursday at the station.

To see the station, go to 20401 Acacia St., by the golf course.