Friday, January 25, 2008
New Roanoke fire station will be lean and green
Several steps are being taken to make the new fire station fiscally and environmentally friendly.
Related
Courtesy of Roanoke Fire/EMS
A rendering shows the new Roanoke station, which will be completed this year.
Map
Today's ceremony to shovel dirt at the construction site of Roanoke's new fire station is more than just a groundbreaking -- it's breaking new ground for the city.
The fire station, to be built at the corner of Williamson Road and Birchlawn Avenue in Northwest Roanoke, will be the first city-owned green, or environmentally friendly, structure.
"It's just us trying to be more sensitive" to the environment, said Charlie Anderson, an architect for the city.
The $1.8 million project includes several features to save money and help the environment by conserving building materials, electricity and water.
One of those features is a rainwater harvesting system, which stores rain underground in tanks. The water will then be used in toilets and to clean and fill fire trucks, City Engineer Phil Schirmer said.
Another green aspect is in the landscaping. Plants and soil will filter pollutants from storm water before the runoff is let go into streams.
The station also will include permeable pavement, which minimizes runoff; a high-efficiency heating, cooling and building insulation system; and renewable building materials, Schirmer said.
The building materials are coming from within 500 miles of the site to save on transportation costs. Builders will recycle as much of the metal, wood and even drywall scraps as possible, Anderson said.
Even the site of the fire station is being reused. A barber shop and another small building once stood on the site but have been demolished.
City officials are hoping their conservation efforts and the green design will help qualify the building to be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified through the U.S. Green Building Council.
The LEED program is recognized nationally as a standard for green buildings.
Anderson said it is estimated that the cost of the fire station is 5 percent more expensive than that of a conventional building. The additional expense will be recovered over a period of time through savings in electricity, water, heating and cooling, Anderson said.
When the building is complete late this year, a fire engine and ambulance from Fire Station No. 10, near the airport, are moving in, said Fire-EMS spokeswoman Tiffany Bradbury. The new station will be staffed by about six people per shift. The department's airport fire trucks will stay at Station No. 10.
The new location is more central to the area Station No. 10 covers, and that means the fire engine and ambulance will be able to respond more quickly to emergencies, Bradbury said.
The department strives to arrive on scene in less than four minutes, Bradbury said, but the location of Station No. 10 makes that goal difficult when crews are called to areas off Williamson and Plantation roads.
"It's really going to help put those emergency vehicles into the community," Bradbury said.
