A construction crew knocked down the 73-year-old Woodside Fire Protection District's Station 7 at 3111 Woodside Road on Aug. 15 to make room for a new, larger station.

The new Woodside facility will be nearly twice as big as the former station and is expected to be completed in fall 2023. The idea of a new station was first discussed by the fire district's board over a decade ago. Station 8 in Portola Valley is also getting a facelift.

The Station 7 upgrades include installing eight apparatus bays for storing firefighting and emergency response vehicles, five more than the existing site's three. State-of-the-art emergency alerting technology, seismic safety and contamination isolation will provide a safer working environment for firefighters, according to fire district officials.

"It's long overdue," said Chief Rob Lindner in a statement. "This project has been in the planning phase for several years. Thanks to the Arrillaga Family and the Arrillaga Foundation, we are thrilled to see the construction work begin on these critical improvements that will equip our community with 21st century facilities."

The Arrillaga Foundation donated $10 million to help fund the $45 million in updates to fire district facilities. The fire district, which serves the towns of Woodside and Portola Valley, and the communities of Emerald Hills, Ladera, Los Trancos and Vista Verde, is contributing $15 million. The remaining funds will be raised through a capital campaign led by the Woodside-Portola Valley Fire Protection Foundation, a nonprofit organization.

Station 7 fire services were moved to Interim Fire Station 7 at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) site on Sand Hill Road in June. This facility will not be open to the public. Access will be through a secure automated gate at the Sand Hill Road and Whiskey Hill Road intersection.

Portola Valley's Station 8 remodel

The fire district began modernizing its Station 8 at 135 Portola Road in Portola Valley at the same time as Station 7.

The department will add a third apparatus bay, contamination isolation, an additional training room area, offices and another bedroom. The existing station will be renovated to meet current seismic and accessibility codes.

Work will not go as quickly as at Station 7, since it will stay open and firefighters will continue to live there during the remodeling, said Lorrie Duval, an advisor to the Woodside Fire Protection District, in an email. It's expected to be completed sometime in 2024, she said.

The station was built in 1970 and last remodeled in 1994, according to The Almanac's archives.

The fire district operates three fire stations. The third is on Jefferson Avenue in Emerald Hills neighborhood of Redwood City.