Moffett Federal Airfield: Fire, Air Crash and Rescue Station - Firehouses on Waymarking.com

In 1982, a new single story fire station was built north of Hangar One, and Moffett’s fire department had a new and modern home.

In January 1994, BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) effectively secured naval operations at NAS Moffett Field. The Cold War was over and the military went through a major draw-down. With the navy gone, a new fire department was needed to continue operations. The NASA Ames Research Center had authority over the entire field and the California Air National Guard’s (CANG) 129th Rescue Group (later achieving Wing status), which is stationed at Moffett Field, picked up the challenge and put together a department which brought together firefighters from all of the services and placed them into a U.S. Air Force uniform.

The leadership of this new department was maintained by a few long-serving navy civilians who remained on-board to assist with the transition. Since about all the new members had in common was that they had all previously been military firefighters, the department’s leadership faced a significant challenge; the continuance of operations while creating a cohesive firefighting force. Through the leadership’s collective and successful efforts, the transition was considered complete in September 1997.

The Air National Guard turned over fire department operations to a contract service in October 2004. The department was now in the process of forming and operating a union and striving to learn and understand the new models of civilian leadership.

The latest transition came to the department in August 2006, and with it a new style of management, a seasoned new fire chief and a new lease on life. Wackenhut Services, Incorporated had won a five-year contract for fire protection services with The NASA Ames Research Center.