In Quarters: Redwood Fire Station, Los Gatos, CA

June 17, 2025
The two-story Redwood Fire Station harmonizes seamlessly with its natural surroundings and includes a watch tower.

This facility received the Career 2 Notable award in the 2024 Firehouse Station Design Awards. Find the full list of winners here.

Nestled in a mountain community along Highway 17, the Redwood Fire Station stands as a beacon of safety and innovation. Designed as a state of-the-art replacement fire station, this two-story  marvel harmonizes seamlessly with its natural surroundings while fulfilling the essential needs of the fire department and the community that it serves.

The ground floor boasts expansive apparatus bays and essential support spaces, along with modern exercise and office areas, to ensure that the firefighters are always at peak performance. Ascend to the second floor, and you’ll find comfortable and thoughtfully designed living and sleeping quarters.

A watch tower offers a stunning view of the neighboring area and harkens back to the classic mountaintop watch tower. The station is part of an existing  community campus that includes the community park, pool and community center with associated parking. Arrangements were made to provide fire apparatus circulation on the campus to allow for a safe, drive-through station.

Processes were included in the station to facilitate proper cleaning and separation of areas to protect firefighters and the community from contaminants.

Respectful of the mountain community’s character, the design of Redwood Fire Station delivers more than just a functional facility; it provides a harmonious addition to the landscape, a testament to architectural excellence and a cornerstone of community resilience. This project embodies the spirit of dedication, safety and unity.

Architect: RRM Design Group

About the Author

Peter Matthews | Editor-in-Chief/Conference Director

Peter Matthews is the conference director and editor-in-chief of Firehouse. He has worked at Firehouse since 1999, serving in various roles on both Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse.com staffs. He completed an internship with the Rochester, NY, Fire Department and served with fire departments in Rush, NY, and Laurel, MD, and was a lieutenant with the Glenwood Fire Company in Glenwood, NY. Matthews served as photographer for the St. Paul, MN, Fire Department and currently is a photographer for the Fort Worth, TX, Fire Department.        

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