Los Alamos County seeks resident input on Fire Station 4 public art

Los Alamos County is asking residents to help shape the public-art theme for Fire Station #4, and the survey will stay open until midnight June 21. The county’s Art in Public Places Board, working with the Los Alamos Fire Department and Los Alamos County Public Works, will use the responses to develop the theme that guides artist selection for the new station.

That makes the decision more than a decorative exercise. The artwork will be tied to a publicly funded emergency-services building that county leaders say is meant to reflect both community identity and the role firefighters play in daily safety.

The replacement Fire Station #4 is in design development with VEGA Architects and will be built adjacent to the existing station at 4401 Diamond Drive. County materials say the current building, constructed in 1964, was not designed for female firefighters or the larger apparatus used today. The county also says the station has drainage problems and contamination-control issues that affect firefighter living quarters.

The County Council selected the existing-site option on Nov. 12, 2024, after a site-selection process that included public meetings on Sept. 23, Oct. 15 and Oct. 21, 2024. After attendees asked for more input, the county reopened the site-selection survey through Oct. 30, giving residents another chance to weigh in before the final direction was set.

The project reached another milestone on May 20, when the county held a groundbreaking ceremony for the replacement station. County officials have said the project’s primary goal is public safety under the county’s quality-of-life strategic goal, with secondary goals that include operational excellence, environmental stewardship and firefighter wellbeing.

The public-art program itself is part of a standing county policy. Los Alamos County says the Art in Public Places fund is supported by 1% of capital improvement project budgets and 0.5% of road project budgets, and the board’s stated purpose is to integrate art into public spaces while reflecting the county’s history and culture.

For Fire Station #4, that means the theme choice will help define how one of Los Alamos County’s most visible public-safety buildings presents itself for years to come. The county is using the survey now, while the station is still taking shape, to make sure the finished project carries a community voice into the final design.