Firefighters Thursday were working to fully extinguish a stubborn two-alarm fire that heavily damaged the Buena Park Fire Station near Knott’s Berry Farm and destroyed three fire department vehicles and a swiftwater rescue boat, authorities said.

The blaze broke out at 3:40 a.m. at the station at 8081 Western Ave., said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Larry Kurtz.

All the firefighters inside the Fire Authority station, which houses eight firefighters and one battalion chief, evacuated safely. Some members of that crew were out on a call at the time the fire broke out, Kurtz said.

Sixty-four firefighters sent to the scene were working to fully extinguish the flames nearly four hours after the fire broke out, Kurtz said.

Destroyed in the fire were a 100-foot aerial ladder truck, a battalion chief’s Chevrolet SUV, a fire department pickup truck, and a swiftwater rescue boat, Kurtz said.

The cause of the fire was under investigation, and a damage estimate was being tallied. The fire station, which was heavily damaged, likely will be out of service “for some time,” Kurtz said.

Authorities closed Western Avenue in both directions.

—City News Service

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