Carlsbad's First Firehouse

Built in 1942, Carlsbad's first fire station, now the North Sector office of California State Parks, was the first fire station in northern San Diego County. The California Division of Forestry occupied the building until 1973, when California State Parks acquired it. From 1942 until 1952, its crews and volunteers were the primary, and sometimes sole, responders to fires in Carlsbad and along the coast between Oceanside and Del Mark to the south. Much of the area was then rural and unincorporated, and forest and brush fires were an ever-present danger. The L-shaped, one-story building is an example of modern ranch-style architecture that came of age in California after World War II. It was hand-built by California Division of Forestry firefighters and features 18-inch-thick stabilized adobe block and board-and-batten siding below sloped rooflines. Its concrete-capped adobe perimeter walls are still standing. The volunteer fire department was formed in 1949 by Tom Walker of the California Division of Forestry.

Carlsbad, California · United States