I had the distinct pleasure of touring Los Angeles County Fire Station 127 the day before the opening of the new Los Angles County Fire Museum in Bellflower, California. Station 127 was the inspiration for the fire station in the 1970s television classic Emergency! and exterior scenes were filmed there. When you see Roy and Johnny driving out of the fire station in Squad 51, that’s actually Station 127. The interior of the station was replicated on a sound stage at the Universal lot, but it is amazingly similar in design. Touring Station 127 was like stepping onto the set of Emergency! and it was one of the highlights of my trip. Let’s take a tour!
Show Biz
There is something fascinating about filming locations. Experiencing a place that one is really only familiar with in a fictional sense is a bit like stepping into some sort of bizarro universe. Why visit Station 127? Well, I really enjoy investigating the history of a beloved television show or movie. How was it filmed? Was it based on actual places, people, or events? Untwisting fact and fiction can be intriguing, and the Mark VII television shows of the 1960s and 1970s are some of the shows I particularly enjoy watching and researching. Jack Webb’s production company created shows like Dragnet, Adam-12, and Emergency! Shows that inspired by real world issues. In the case of Emergency! the show introduced viewers to the rapidly changing world of emergency medicine in Los Angeles. When filming began in late 1971, the paramedic program is Los Angeles County was barely two years old, and paramedics had only gained the freedom to go out on calls without nurses in 1970. The series followed fictional paramedics, firefighters, and emergency room professionals navigating a new world of medicine. Watching the show again within the last few years, I’ve found it extremely interesting from a historical perspective. Even though it was fictional, Emergency! captured a fascinating period in history, and it had real world impact. It introduced the public to a profession many were not yet familiar with, and inspired a whole generation of firefighters and paramedics. Emergency! Behind the Scene
Green Thumb: The Exterior
Station 127 is still a working fire station. We had our Lyft driver drop us off next door so we would not get in the way if the station received a call. The exterior of the station still looks much the same as it did in the 1970s. Although landscaping has changed, fans will recognize the flag pole that was often shown as a segue between scenes.
Surprise: Station 127 Available!
Other fans arrived while we were looking at the exterior of the station and asked if we had been inside. Some had visited before, and hoped to go on a tour. For others, like me, it was their first visit. They invited us to join them as they tapped on the door. A few minutes later, the bay doors began to open, and we were greeted by a friendly firefighter who welcomed us inside. I am a reserved person, but my inner fangirl was squealing with delight!
[I just have to say this: If you go, please remember this is a working fire station staffed by firefighters who are working long shifts, and who have very demanding jobs. No one is owed a tour. If you are invited in, please be respectful of their time.]
The apparatus may be updated, but the structure of Station 127 is still very much the same as it was in the 1970s.
A huge map still dons the wall of the station just like it did on Emergency! Advances in navigation systems, however, make it no longer necessary to consult a wall map before heading out on a run.
A Cook’s Tour
I was especially excited to see the kitchen and lounge area. This was the setting for a lot of the humor and heart of Emergency! Although the show was about the firefighting and emergency medicine, it was also about relationships. Although we rarely catch glimpses of their off-duty personal lives, Emergency! was also about bonds and friendships between co-workers. Bonds so great that they often seemed like family. A really ridiculous family. There were pranks and bickering, money making schemes, kitchen disasters, fiascos with pets, and crash diets. What’s your favorite? I love the Great Crash Diet.
The kitchen was a place where many things were shared: big ideas, laughter, fears and concerns, and of course some memorable meals. I love the spirit of it all! I am a collector of the vintage banana leaf dishes they used on the show. It is a super cute tropical pattern and it always reminds me of the friendships and hi-jinx at Station 51.
I was thrilled to see that the kitchen and lounge areas still have the same golden paneling.
How’s that for inspiration every time you leave for a call? Cast photos hang above the door to the bay. I also loved seeing the little writing platform is still below the phone.
127 Wild: Hens and Hose Towers
There is still a hose tower in the back of the station. What’s that underneath the hose tower? It’s a chicken coop! Station 127’s chickens get to lay their eggs in a replica of the station. Who wants Eggs Lupin?
Insomnia
Next, we got to tour the dorm and locker room. That original brick is incredible (as johnny would say). They’ve added weight equipment to the back end of the dorm, but the bunks are still the same, with brick half-walls between them.
Camera Bug
We got to see the locker room as well, so I had to get a photo of Johnny and Roy’s lockers, or rather the spot where Roy and Johnny’s lockers were on the set. I wonder if anyone has a Smoky the Bear poster?
Grateful
Touring Station 127 was one of the highlights of my trip. Perhaps even more moving than seeing Squad 51 or the Emergency! actors at the LA County Fire Museum. This surprised me. Perhaps it was partly because it was my first Emergency! stop on a fun-filled weekend. I was fresh and excited, but also really grateful to share the experience with other fans: a really fun group of women who were just as excited about seeing the little things and reminiscing about the silly moments of the show. I love sharing memorable experiences with other people that are just as excited as I am. But part of what made visiting Station 127 special was that I could still feel the spirit of the show in the place, and just for a moment, fiction melted into reality. Immersing yourself in a space packed with history can be a powerful experience. I know that as a history geek, but I was surprised at just how fun this particular experience was. Connecting history to the contemporary, and the real to imagined was really an amazing experience.
A huge thank you goes out to our tour guide. A large part of what also made this experience great was our host. He was so welcoming and patient with all our questions, even though he said about 50 other people had already been there that day. Visitors come from all over the world to see Station 127, many of whom are firefighters and were inspired by the show.
As a fan of the show and history geek, it was thrilling to see that this working fire station has remained so true to its original design, but then I’m just a fan. Had I chosen firefighting or paramedics as a career, I can only imagine how moving it would be to visit a place that had such a huge influence on my life. Station 127 is not a static museum or memorial to the show, and I think that’s a big part of what makes it a powerful place to visit. It’s a living place, moving forward with dedicated people who are serving their community, but still honoring a piece of the past that inspired many. Thanks so much for the tour!
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Thanks for the terrific shots and narrative!
Thank you!
Thank you so much for posting this!! What a great show this was!! So glad I have the series on dvd.
wonderful pictures. hope to see this on my trip down.
I drove by “Station 51″ while driving through LA on I-405 (I’m more used to the I-405 in Seattle, LOL), completely forgot it was there, told myself weeks before I’d stop in. Once I got on the plane back to Boise and got over Calabasas, it hit…”I forgot to stop in at Station 51!!!” Felt like ordering the pilot to turn back…but no. Next time…I swear. I did have EXACT Gage & DeSoto nametags made up as a consolation prize. Guess I was born at the right time. 🙂