FIRE AND WINGS – Left: The ribbon cutting ceremony takes place on August 15 at the official opening of the Ventura County Fire Department headquarters. Below: Thousand Oaks City Councilman Al Adam speaks at the VCFD event. Photos by MAKENA HUEY Acorn Newspapers

After having its administrative headquarters in Camarillo for five decades, the Ventura County Fire Department is moving to Thousand Oaks.

With a ribbon-cutting ceremony on August 15, the department officially opened the doors to its new $15 million, 100,000-square-foot building. The facility houses approximately 150 employees and brings all of its management, administrative, fire and rescue personnel together in one location. And there’s still room to grow.

“This is a modern office building. It’s an office building that reflects the pride and professionalism of our employees. It’s an office building where we can bring everyone together in one place to work and collaborate…” Fire Chief Dustin Gardner said during the ceremony. “This is definitely a new beginning and a new chapter for our agency, and I’m excited about it.”

The fire department’s administrative headquarters has been located at Camarillo Airport at 165 Durley Ave. since 1976.

The space was just under 2,800 square meters, including modular buildings. At the old location, staff were separated and needed more space, officials said.

VCFD began searching for a new building four and a half years ago, with several deals falling through at the last minute.

Gardner said the department had even considered building its own 37,000-square-foot facility, at an estimated cost of about $40 million.

However, in late 2023, the Ventura County Fire Department completed the purchase of the facility at 2400 Conejo Spectrum Street in the Rancho Conejo industrial area.

Although the training and operations centers will remain in Camarillo, the fire department will no longer rent administrative space at the airport.

From an administrative standpoint, Thousand Oaks is more centrally located, officials said, especially since the population in the east of the county is higher and more fire protection measures are needed.

“This new facility is more than just a building. It’s a promise — a promise that as our community grows and evolves, services will grow and evolve as well,” Second District Supervisor Jeff Gorell said during the ceremony. “By centralizing operations here, we’re making it easier for people across the district, especially in the East District, to access the resources they need.”

Built in 2001, the building was previously occupied by Amgen and then Sage Publishing, who donated the existing furniture to VCFD. Aside from painting and carpet cleaning, minimal renovations were required.

Operations at the new headquarters began in May.

The space offers private offices and cubicles for staff, as well as conference rooms that can be used for press conferences or meetings with regional fire chiefs. There are also more common areas for breaks.

“Small gestures like this show that you care about the people who work here. They have a significant impact on morale and ultimately productivity,” says Scott Thomsen, VCFD’s director of communications and public relations.

Over the next two to three years, the department plans to renovate the currently unused space on the first of the two floors. Possible uses include a backup control center, an internal departmental emergency operations center or a fitness center.

The department also plans to lease some of the land to the Ventura County Resource Management Agency, which is responsible for overseeing building permits.

“We can’t tell you how pleased we are with the public safety that the Ventura County Fire Department provides us. It’s simply exemplary,” Thousand Oaks Mayor Al Adam told the audience. “And this building offers all kinds of opportunities.”