By Alan M. Petrillo

Fire Station 6, the oldest active fire station of the Raleigh (NC) Fire Department, had been built in 1949 in the heart of the city’s most prominent historic district.

Its relatively small size of 5,400 square feet severely limited the accommodation of modern fire apparatus as well as personnel accommodations, so the city decided to replace it with a new structure, hiring Stewart Cooper Newell Architects (SCN) to design and build the new Fire Station 6 on the same site.

“The station was outdated for our needs,” says James Poole, Raleigh’s division chief. “And to complicate the building of a new station was the fact the property was only one-sixth of an acre, a large oak tree on the back of the site had to be protected, and there was a large underground cistern at the back of the parking lot.”

Ken Newell, principal at SCN, says, “The original station was a tiny, two-story structure on an extremely tight site with a very sloped grade change. It was in a nice neighborhood of old historic homes and the neighbors were anxious about what the scale of the new building might be. We didn’t want it to overpower the area homes, so we picked up on some of the external elements of those homes and incorporated them into our design.”

Newell notes that SCN designed true arches over the apparatus bay doors to fit the neighborhood detailing, as well as the area masonry and roof forms. “We also were able to salvage some materials from the original fire station,” he says. “We took some brick, wood flooring, original hardware and signage, and a fire pole and incorporated a lot of those materials in the lobby of the new station. The original fire pole was set up in the lobby to be a museum piece as well.”

Jody Jackson, SCN project manager, says the new station is a two-story structure for which SCN earned a Silver LEED certification. “There is 15 feet of grade change from the front of the station to the back because we had to build it into the side of a hill and maintain a lot of the grade, so the building is two stories at the front and three stories at the back. The lower section holds a lot of the structure’s mechanical spaces.”

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He notes that the new station’s windows and arches are features that emulate some of the architecture in the nearby residential section, while exterior colors are similar to those of businesses in the area. “We introduced a herringbone pattern to the bricking, with arched brick around the door arches,” Jackson says. “And we installed terra cotta tile on the mansard roof that also emulates the neighborhood roofs.”

Jackson says new Fire Station 6 is 14,990 square feet, with the ground floor holding two double-deep, back-in apparatus bays that have a Plymovent exhaust removal system, a separate decon area, and a turnout gear storage room. Separated by a yellow zone corridor, the living/working section of the ground floor has men’s and women’s toilet facilities, a radio report room, storage are

Sutphen—Sugar Grove (IL) Fire Protection District top-controls pumper. Monarch cab and chassis; Cummins L9 450-hp engine; Hale Qmax 1,500-gpm pump; UPF Poly 1,000-gallon water tank. Dealer: Ben Brown, Legacy Fire Apparatus, Shorewood, IL. (Photo by author)

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The Biloxi Fire Department added three new pumpers recently, wxxv25.com reported.

The new engines were manufactured in Wisconsin and driven to Alabama to their service center, the report said.

Some of the department’s trucks are coming up on their 20-year mark and will be replaced. The new engines will cover Woolmarket and the North Biloxi area, according to the report.

One of the new ones, Engine 7, is dedicated to Biloxi High School, the report said. It will be housed at the station, but will be used for all the football games and EMT services. Instead of putting the original department’s badge on the engine, it has an arrowhead for the Biloxi High Indians.

After the engines are serviced, the department plans to invite the public to come view them, the report said.

Donald W. Meyers
Yakima Herald-Republic, Wash.
(TNS)

Mar. 29—A Yakima man who crashed into a fire engine during a police chase is heading to federal prison.

James Duane Deckard, 25, was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm. He pleaded guilty in November to the charge, which factors in his prior conviction for third-degree domestic-violence assault and his methamphetamine addiction.

The sentence was below the 57-month minimum recommended under federal sentencing guidelines, but prosecutors and Deckard’s attorney said the sentence would allow him to get treatment for his addiction as well as receive a GED certificate and get job training.

Deckard was arrested following a police chase on Dec. 18, 2021.

Yakima police were called to Deckard’s West Mead Avenue home Dec. 16 after his girlfriend said he hit her 4-year-old son’s wrist, according to a YPD probable cause affidavit.

Deckard had left by the time police arrived, the affidavit said, but the woman described the incident and prior threats, including pointing a gun at her. Deckard has a 2018 prior felony conviction for third-degree assault for strangling his girlfriend, and is barred from possessing guns and ammunition.

Police located Deckard’s vehicle on Dec. 18 and tried to stop him at West Nob Hill Boulevard and South Third Avenue, the affidavit said, but Deckard sped off through residential neighborhoods.

Police broke off their pursuit after losing sight of Deckard when he nearly caused a collision at the West Nob Hill Boulevard overpass.

Police again found Deckard’s vehicle at East Nob Hill Boulevard and South Eighth Street, where he hit a fire engine, the affidavit said. Deckard was arrested after a foot chase.

Deckard’s girlfriend, who was in the car, said he tossed something out the window at Raymond Park, the affidavit said. Officers found a pistol that matched the description of Deckard’s firearm, and his DNA was found on it, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Police also found almost 40 pounds of marijuana stuffed in the vehicle’s dashboard, as well as a digital scale, pistol magazines, ammunition, a holster, the affidavit said, along with gold and collectible coins.

While in jail, Deckard called his girlfriend and family members several times trying to get her to change her testimony, the affidavit said.

Deckard pleaded guilty in July to third-degree assault and witness tampering in Yakima County Superior Court, while federal prosecutors filed the firearms charge against him.

Reach Donald W. Meyers at dmeyers@yakimaherald.com.

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