El Monte Fire Station
12355 El Monte Rd
Los Altos Hills, CA 94022
Built: 1996
Located on the southern edge of the Foothill College campus, El Monte station provides protection to the campus and the Los Altos Hills community, a mixture of very expensive homes, rolling open spaces and wooded hillsides. This "urban wilderness interface" requires the ability to react to both urban and woodland fires, so Patrol 14, a 4x4 International is stationed here, along with Rescue 14, a more conventional pumper. All vehicles are select-call units.
El Monte Station is the only station in the department with traditional fire poles for personnel to slide down to the apparatus floor on. This station is responsible for repair, maintenance, inspection and refilling of the department's SCBAs (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus).
Patrol 14 is a 1990 KME/International Navistar 4x4 with 500gpm (1895 l/m) rear-mounted pump and 500 gallon (1895 l) tank. Like the Redwood Station rigs that also have to operate on narrow, winding mountain roads, Patrol 14 has extra lights that point diagonally "cross-eyed" across the headlight beams. These lights, mounted on the fenders above the headlights, are connected to come on only when the high beams and a deadman foot switch are activated, to help the driver see around sharp corners when the headlights are pointing straight ahead. The second and third shots were taken during wildland training exercises, May 2001.
Truck 14 is a 1996 Smeal/HME quint with a 75' (23M) ladder and 1500 gpm (5685 l/m) pump.
Rescue 14 is a 2001 KME with a 1250 gpm (4740 l/m) pump. Photo 24 Jan 2003.
Former Rescue 14 was a 1990 KME/Renegade with a 1500gpm (5685 l/m) pump. Rescue 14 now serves as Reserve Engine 116 at Loyola station. Photo taken 2000.
Historic PhotosFor historic photos of Los Altos' Fire Department, before it joined County, click here.
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