CAMARILLO : Groundbreaking Set for New Fire Station

Ventura County Fire Department officials will conduct a groundbreaking ceremony today in Camarillo for a 9,000-square-foot fire station.

Fire Chief James Sewell said the ceremony, which is open to the public, will begin at 2 p.m. on an empty parcel on the 2100 block of Pickwick Drive. Ventura County Supervisor Maggie Kildee will be the keynote speaker.

Sewell said the $1.5-million station will be more than twice the size of the aging station on Ventura Boulevard that it will replace. That station was built on land originally acquired from Camarillo patriarch Adolfo Camarillo in 1939.

Sewell said the new station will accommodate firefighting and rescue equipment and provide sleeping areas, restrooms and showers for male and female firefighters.