It’s been 5 years since Los Cerritos’ old Fire Station 9 closed when firefighters complained about mold in the walls making them sick. Since then, they’ve been operating out of temporary stations with no permanent home. Now, an end to their exile is finally in sight.

On Tuesday morning, the mayor, city council member, fire chief and other city officials turned the first ceremonial shovel of dirt on a new state-of-the-art station at 4101 Long Beach Blvd. It replaces the old Fire Station 9 a couple of blocks to the south and will primarily serve the Bixby Knolls, Los Cerritos and Cal Heights areas.

“This station supports resources that go all across town. It’s going to improve response times for our entire community,” Mayor Rex Richardson said.

A rendering of the proposed Fire Station 9 project in Los Cerritos. Courtesy of the city of Long Beach

When complete, the $31 million project will house seven firefighters, a paramedic ambulance, a fire engine and a battalion chief, according to Long Beach Fire Department Chief Dennis Buchanan. It also has room for a spare ladder truck and space for paramedic and community training sessions.

A pull-through design and dedicated traffic signal will ease any traffic headaches.

Buchanan said this is the fifth fire station Long Beach has built since 2008.

“I’m extremely grateful,” he said.

Long Beach’s decision to close the original Fire Station 9 sparked backlash in 2019.

City Manager Tom Modica recalled standing in front of 300 angry residents worried about their safety.

It was an “incredibly difficult decision,” according to Modica, but ultimately, he said, it was an easy call to protect firefighters from the mold they said was making them sick.

A man in a blue shirt runs past a dilapidated firehouse with his black dog.
A man and his dog run past the now-defunct Fire Station 9 in Los Cerritos on Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Photo by Brandon Richardson.

The old building, the exterior of which was recently designated as historic, has been sold to the family that runs Gemmae Bake Shop, a popular Filipino baker on the Westside. They plan to open a location there after remodeling the station at 3917 Long Beach Blvd.

Long Beach budgeted $31 million to buy the new Fire Station 9 property and construct the building — most of which is coming from bonds financed by future Measure A sales tax revenue. Construction is expected to be completed in December 2025.

“This station will undoubtedly save lives,” Councilmember Al Austin said.

Jeremiah Dobruck is executive editor of the Long Beach Post where he oversees all day-to-day newsroom operations. In his time working as a journalist in Long Beach, he’s won numerous awards for his investigative reporting and editing. Before coming to the Post in 2018, he wrote for publications including the Press-Telegram, Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times. Reach him at [email protected] or @jeremiahdobruck on Twitter.