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We Need Help With Our Station
we are a small dept. in a small township that is in need of a bigger station in the worst way. the township board ask us to have an architect to draw up the plans now the are giving us a really hard time with what we need and want. my cheif has asked us to justify the rooms and bays that we have drawn up so we can take it to the board and the voters can any one help us with this problem that were having thanks
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by doug wehner on
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take to the board the osha standards on what u hav to hav. im sure they hav some sort of standards that u need to were u can bring to that board. and dont worry ur not the only one with these problems. im on a carreer dept on a urban training base were we hav 24hr shifts. and they wont giv us a shower. we gave them plans on what we would like to hav but they looked at us like we were crazy.
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Permalink Reply by Derek R. on
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Maybe I'm just tired, but I'm not getting what you're asking. If the chief is asking you to justify the bays and rooms, then do it. You guys know what you need and what you don't need; we don't. Just be honest. If the board is giving you the ok to have a new station, there shouldn't be a problem unless you're going for the biggest, most up-to-date station with all the bells and whistles, and separate bathrooms for everyone and separate rooms for the pool table, pingpong table and card room. Again, maybe I'm not getting what you are asking.
Good luck with it. And I hope you get the station you want.
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Permalink Reply by Padre Pete on
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Hi Graham, Some more specifics about "rooms and bays" would help us all in addressing your needs. We lucked out here. When we outgrew our station we drove to a nearby department with a station we liked and they gave us thier plans. ($100,000. saved). Then we had it built on village property (another $100,000.) Things we did not have that we have found indispensible in the new station are: A big enough day room / kitchen / lounge area that will double as a classroom for visiting grade school classes or firefighters; a conference room (ours is in constant use for committee meetings, interviews and projects.), a huge maintenace / equipment area which you will outgrow no matter what and at least two offices and a comunication center. We have more but those things are essentials in my mind. Works here. Pete PS: There is never enough storage space.
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Permalink Reply by Douglas Crowell, Jr. on
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If your goal is to keep the cost down, instead of justifying your rooms, see if you can show savings by doing some work by yourselves.
My volunteer department built an addition to our station about 3 years ago. We saved tens of thousands by doing simple stuff like cleaning up and removing the waste construction materials, hanging our own airlines, painting, and finishing the floors. We also were able to do a lot of the tear down (demolition) of some of the old floors, windows, and utilities.
This took a great commitment from our members, but it saved us a lot of money too.
When you get to the point of bidding and construction meeting with contractors, see if they would work with you on some of these things.
Hope this helps you out.
Doug
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Permalink Reply by graham purvis on
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thanks for responding to the post its not that i want you to do it for me its that im asking for advise how to do it. were looking at a work out room, day room, confrence room, kitchen, dual bunk room, dual locker rooms, four pull through bays, mechanical rooms w/ washer and dryers, ambulance storgae and offices, and officers offices. and other mechanical rooms to run the building
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And the township board is giving you a hard time about that? Sounds like a reasonable request. I guess they're trying to save money too. Find out if you can save costs by doing the work yourself, as mentioned here already. Let them know you're willing to help out to help them save money.
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Permalink Reply by Blake Sexton on
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you dont have a shower at a paid dept that is insane
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Permalink Reply by ashfire on
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Our main station has had additions added since it was built in 1950. The first was for a office, bunkroom, dayroom/meeting room, kitchen, hose tower, bathrooms and maintenance room for the engineer. Rooms were remodeled or moved around for a couple years. The bunkroom and day/meeting room switched. Maintenance room became new bathrooms and locker rooms and chief's bunkroom. Well new apparatus wouldn't fit in the apparatus room and we were also using it for fund raising and units had to sit out in the weather and the kitchen had to be converted for fund raising use.
So we added a two bay drive through with new kitchen/dayroom, offices and dispatch area. Everything on the otherside like the old office and dayroom was opened up for part of the fund raising hall which was the apparatus area. The hose tower was shut off from the hall and part of it turned into a bathroom.
Well things are now in need of another addition because we have a pumper sitting out in the weather because a county batt. chief has his SUV sitting in bay and we have weight lifting equipment, washers and dryers, maintenance equipment and other items sitting in the apparatus bay.
One door coming out of a room misses the ladder truck by inches. Everyone sleeps in the same bunkroom (male and female).
Right now the offices will be remodeled to so that there can be a room for computers so members can do class work or research.
But we need a new three bay drive through apparatus room and convert the old bay into dayroom and bunkroom with small separate sleeping rooms and weight lift room and convert sections of the old section into other uses like offices and training area.
One station in the county just finished doing this same action of converting a apparatus area into offices, bunkrooms, bathrooms and training area.
Also added was a rollup door that rolls down to protect a open hallway in the event of a fire. This separate the apparatus room from the living area. There is a regular fire door in another hallway to get to the apparatus.
There has been talk of building a separate building on the land next to the station as a new fund raising building and convert the rest of the station for other uses.
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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on
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Is there a possibility that the new station could be used as an emergency shelter for residents?
What is the rate of population growth in your town, and what will the department be like in 10 or 20 years?
These are just a couple of questions that can help you decide how big to go with your expansion.
Ten years ago we tripled the size of our truck bays and added an office, lounge, SCBA/EMS room, shower and utility room as well as a second floor storage area.
Guess what? I wish we had more room, and the once huge truck bays don't seem so big now with the newer trucks.
Oh yeah, be sure to include an exhaust system so you can comply with OSHA.
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