Keeping It Safe Robert Tutterow

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recently released its fifth needs assessment of the U.S. fire service. One of the most striking findings was the lack of progress in improving fire stations.

Almost half of the U.S. stations are more than 40 years old, and that percentage is larger than it was when the fourth needs assessment was released in 2015. Unfortunately, the situation is not getting better or remaining steady. It is getting worse.

A couple of examples of the shortcomings are the lack of diesel exhaust removal systems in 56% of the stations and the fact that 31% of the stations have no backup power. It is known that diesel is a carcinogen and a clear health hazard to those who breathe in the contaminated air. And backup power (highly recommended full station power) is critical, especially when the perils of Mother Nature strike a community. The fire station must be a beacon of light in these types of events.

Knowing that a fire station should last several decades (seven is an often-mentioned number), we have not been very successful in projecting our needs 70 years in advance. Just a couple of generations ago, for example, there were no concerns about gender, wellness rooms, contamination control, or sleep deprivation. Many volunteer stations were built without anyone thinking the department would become a combination department; thus, station needs changed when that transition occurred. In fact, since no one can accurately forecast what challenges lie ahead that might impact fire station design, we should do something we habitually forget to do in station design, and that is adequate storage. Yes, square footage cost is a number used by architects and contractors and one of the first things mentioned to cut when there is a lack of funds. A well-designed station should be built with a future addition in mind.

The fire service must understand that very few architects are knowledgeable about fire station design. Often, a community will require that a station be designed by a local architectural firm regardless of its expertise in station design. In those cases, it is strongly recommended that the local architect subcontract with a firm that is knowledgeable. The mindset that it is “just a garage” is frightening.

Moreover, the building of a fire station is a once-in-a-career project for most fire chiefs and administrators, so there is no legacy knowledge. Learning about “best practices” in fire station design and renovation is critical in getting the best long-term value in a fire station.

The learning process about the complex aspects of a fire station must begin at least two to three years before a final design is agreed on. Everyone must understand that the operating costs of a station over the life of the station will far exceed the initial design and construction costs. Therefore, durability, ease of maintenance, energy efficiency, and sustainability are particularly important. As fire chiefs and administrators learn about fire station design, it is wise to also involve the critical stakeholders outside the fire service in this learning process.

Clearly, the biggest obstacle in upgrading the state of fire stations across the country is lack of funding. One thing the fire service could do that might help comes from a statement recently made by U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell. She said that we must get our governance to understand and declare the fire service as part of the critical infrastructure. Funding is a prio

Midwest Fire—Richmond Fire District, Honeoye, NY, tanker. Freightliner 114SD cab and chassis; Cummins X12 500-hp engine; Hale Sidekick 500-gpm PTO pump; APR 4,000-gallon polypropylene water tank; three Newton 10-inch stainless-steel manual dump valves; two Zico electric portable tank carriers; two 2,100-gallon portable tanks; All-Poly™ construction. Dealer: Jeff Bowen, Midwest Fire, Luverne, MN.

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For the second time in just over a month, a Copperas Cove fire truck was hit while responding to a separate accident on State Highway 9, kdhnews.com reported.

Around 4:45 p.m. Monday, a driver on Highway 9 hit the back of Copperas Cove Fire Department’s “Ladder 1” fire truck while it was assisting others involved in another accident.

According to an initial assessment by department officials, the damage to the fire truck may not have been debilitating.

Avery Kreemer
Springfield News-Sun, Ohio
(TNS)

Jan. 31—The City of Springfield spent nearly $6 million of its $44.2 million allocation of American Rescue Plan funds in 2022 toward projects that officials believe will provide tangible benefits to residents.

City spokesperson Valerie Lough said the city’s planned expenditures all fall within five categories: building four new fire departments; working on water and sewer infrastructure; awarding grants for arts, culture and recreation initiatives; renovating the City Hall parking garage; and providing solutions for affordable housing and displaced individuals.

“Our eye is on the future and ways that we can make the best long-term investment for the people of our community,” Lough said.

The city has so far spent about $5.9 million of its ARPA funds in those categories.

The largest investment went toward providing shelter solutions for the city’s homeless, as officials committed $1.7 million to purchase the Villager Inn off of North Street with the intent of turning the motel into a temporary homeless shelter — an approach officials said was necessitated by COVID-19′s economic impact.

“COVID led to the displacement of more individuals, straining the infrastructure capacity necessary to shelter not only individuals but single parents and families with children,” said Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck. “We’ve been working at the city and county level to build capacity to address this issue.”

The city doubled down on this approach early this year with the allocation of another $2.2 million to purchase the Executive Inn off of Columbia Street. In total, Springfield plans to spend about $8.4 million on projects related to affordable housing and displaced individuals — about 19% of its total ARPA allocation.

Heck said the motel projects will provide temporary housing solutions, along with supportive services, as folks who were displaced by the pandemic transition to more stable situations.

Springfield intends to build four new fire stations across the city at a cumulative price of about $18 million. Earlier this year, the Station No. 3 off Selma Road was decommissioned ahead of the new projects. The Springfield News-Sun reported that the 1959-built station was too small to house modern fire equipment.

Lough said the new stations will “not only replace worn and outdated facilities, but will be designed and constructed to last for generations in the City of Springfield.”

In total, the city intends to spend $11 million on its water and sewer system, plus $6 million on its underground parking garage renovation above City Hall Plaza.

About $800,000 in small grants will be given to arts and recreation initiatives.

Lough said each project was chosen with a lasting impact in mind, and added that all funds will be allocated before the end of 2024 and spent before the end of 2026, per federal guidelines.

“When we started to make decisions about how these ARPA dollars could be used to benefit our community, our clear priority was to select areas where we can affect practical, long-term and sustainable change for the people we serve,” Lough said.

Editor’s Note: This story is part of a newspaper series tracking how dozens of our area’s largest governments are spending hundreds of millions of dollars combined from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Visit our “Billions in COVID aid: Where it’s going” special section on our partner newspaper’s website at daytondailynews.com/investigations/billions-in-covid-aid to see summaries from other co

Margaret Kates
al.com
(TNS)

The city of Mobile is looking to build a brand-new public safety training complex for firefighters and police officers, replacing the aging facilities it currently uses to train people who work in public safety.

“I foresee this opportunity for the city to build this facility, and what we can provide for the city as a whole,” said the city’s executive director of public safety Lawrence Battiste. “We do so much for the region, we are the ‘beacon on a hill’ for public safety in the region.”

On Tuesday, the Mobile City Council will vote on whether to approve a roughly $997,000 contract with Goodwyn Mills Cawood, an architecture firm, for the design of a “state-of-the-art joint training facility that combines resources from Mobile’s Police, Fire-Rescue and Emergency Services Departments,” according to the contract. The site is set to be roughly eight to 10 acres and the facility is supposed to be roughly 21,126 square feet. The cost of building the training site is supposed to be roughly $13.5 million.

Where the training facility will be has not been determined. It’s also not clear when the facility would be completed. Battiste said once the design is completed (12 weeks from when the contract is authorized), the search for a location will begin in earnest. According to the contract, construction on the facility must be completed within 15 months of breaking ground.

Battiste says that the facility is a more efficient way to train police officers and firefighters, who will share the facility equally. While each group has its own training, there are several elements that overlap, he says, and having the two combine forces will help streamline training.

“While police and fire have operated independently of each other, there are training elements of both that overlap,” Battiste said. “Creating a state-of-the-art training facility that combines the best of what the police and fire have to offer.”

Having up-to-date facilities and top-notch training is critically important, Battiste says, because the city of Mobile doesn’t just train its own officers: police officers and firefighters from around the region receive training in Mobile. Many smaller municipalities that don’t have the infrastructure to support police and fire academies send recruits to Mobile for training.

“It’s important that we have a facility that puts Mobile in the best light, not just for our city but for these adjacent communities,” Battiste said. “To be the best, you have to build the best.”

In addition, for the city of Mobile itself, having nice facilities is important for attracting talent to the police and fire departments, Battiste says. Mobile’s police department has struggled with retaining officers in the last two years. Last spring, the city of Mobile offered a pay incentive to police officers, after the city lost 111 officers in 12 months.

And as the city of Mobile hopes to grow, by annexing territory west of the city or by other means, having strong police and fire departments will be crucial to that goal, Battiste says.

Battiste says that the city hasn’t reached out to the community for input on the facility, as it was more focused on identifying its needs to update the infrastructure. But he says, in his experience, the public has generally been supportive of the city’s first responders and of allocating those departments the resources they need.

In recent years, new facilities for police have become a flashpoint, particularly with the rise of the “Defund the Police” movement in 2020. In Chicago, a new, $128 million police and fire training facility opened this week after years of pushback from activists, who wanted the city to spend the money on social services and housing to hel