By Alan M. Petrillo
Contra Costa County (CA) Fire Department has built and put in service three new fire stations in the past five years with Fire Station 86 being built to accommodate future growth, Fire Station 70 constructed to replace a temporary station, and Fire Station 16 to replace an older structure covering a wildland urban interface (WUI) environment.
Aaron McAlister, Contra Costa County’s deputy chief, says the former Station 86 was a single, back-in bay station built in 1946 that housed three firefighters in very tight quarters. The new Station 86, located in Bay Point, an unincorporated community, has three double-deep, drive-through apparatus bays, McAlister says. “The station protects an area with a lot of single family homes and apartment buildings, and firefighters also respond to a significant number of motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) on nearby Highway 4,” he points out.
Contra Costa County (CA) Fire Protection District built a new Fire Station 86 with three double-deep, drive-through apparatus bays and seven individual dorm rooms for the crews. (Photos courtesy of Contra Costa County Fire Protection District)
New Station 86 is set up with the far side of the apparatus bays holding a decon room with a turnout gear extractor and dryer, a laundry room for rags and apparatus cleaning equipment, a turnout gear storage room, a gross decon shower room, and an infrared heat sauna with an exercise bike for those staff members who want to remove additional particulate contamination from their bodies, McAlister says. The apparatus bays and decon areas have their own exhaust systems.
The living side of Station 86 has seven individual dorm rooms with single beds, three unisex toilet/shower rooms, a captain’s dorm, a station office, training room, exercise room, laundry room, kitchen, dining room, and day room. McAlister notes that the living area floors are polished concrete with some tile in the bathrooms for easier cleaning maintenance and contaminant control. Here is Station 86’s site plan (PDF).
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Posted: Jan 12, 2023
By Alan M. Petrillo
Contra Costa County (CA) Fire Department has built and put in service three new fire stations in the past five years with Fire Station 86 being built to accommodate future growth, Fire Station 70 constructed to replace a temporary station, and Fire Station 16 to replace an older structure covering a wildland urban interface (WUI) environment.
Aaron McAlister, Contra Costa County’s deputy chief, says the former Station 86 was a single, back-in bay station built in 1946 that housed three firefighters in very tight quarters. The new Station 86, located in Bay Point, an unincorporated community, has three double-deep, drive-through apparatus bays, McAlister says. “The station protects an area with a lot of single family homes and apartment buildings, and firefighters also respond to a significant number of motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) on nearby Highway 4,” he points out.
Contra Costa County (CA) Fire Protection District built a new Fire Station 86 with three double-deep, drive-through apparatus bays and seven individual dorm rooms for the crews. (Photos courtesy of Contra Costa County Fire Protection District)
New Station 86 is set up with the far side of the apparatus bays holding a decon room with a turnout gear extractor and dryer, a laundry room for rags and apparatus cleaning equipment, a turnout gear storage room, a gross decon shower room, and an infrared heat sauna with an exercise bike for those staff members who want to remove additional particulate contamination from their bodies, McAlister says. The apparatus bays and decon areas have their own exhaust systems.
The living side of Station 86 has seven individual dorm rooms with single beds, three unisex toilet/shower rooms, a captain’s dorm, a station office, training room, exercise room, laundry room, kitchen, dining room, and day room. McAlister notes that the living area floors are polished concrete with some tile in the bathrooms for easier cleaning maintenance and contaminant control. Here is Station 86’s site plan (PDF).
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Posted: Jan 12, 2023
After getting a tip, NBC10 Investigators looked into the conditions at the aging fire stations in Melrose. Emails obtained via a public records request revealed no shortage of problems, including no heat in the winter, rodents, water leaks and raw sewage, the report said.
After receiving a “Small Town Secrets” tip from a viewer, the NBC10 Investigators submitted a public records request for documents related to the city’s three fire stations, according to the report.
The 300-plus pages of emails and other records we received from the past two years did not paint a pretty picture, the report said.
Problems included: leaks from the dilapidated roof and gutters; rodent infestation and mouse dropping on kitchen counters; dead animals and “horrible” odors coming from the boarded-up hose tower; and leaking urinals discharging raw sewage into the basement, the report said.
On Wednesday, the city launched the Public Safety Building Committee website, which includes information about plans to renovate city buildings, the report said.
The solution will undoubtedly require a significant investment from taxpayers. A similar committee under a previous administration stalled after failing to reach a consensus on the best approach, the report said.
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Posted: Jan 12, 2023
Manufacturer’s Profile Ed Ballam
Doug Baker
SoundOff Signal’s Chief Innovation Officer and Senior Vice President of Technology
FA: Please provide a short overview of SoundOff Signal.
DB: SoundOff Signal is a global leader in vehicle LED lighting, controls systems, and electronic warning solutions for the emergency, amber, government, and off-road markets. We are committed to a strategic focus on innovation, continuous improvement and quality, and providing systems that work together seamlessly to improve vehicle visibility and communication when needed most. SoundOff Signal is an ESOP company, headquartered in Hudsonville, MI. Our 400 employees are dedicated to providing superior products that are designed and manufactured in the USA of domestic and foreign material. We are celebrating our 30th anniversary this year, and I’ve enjoyed seeing how our products and technology have grown from individual products to integrated systems.
FA: How did SoundOff Signal evolve to include the fire and EMS markets?
DB: SoundOff Signal has been providing products within in the fire market for over 10 years, with origins primarily in warning products on command staff and investigator vehicles. In more recent years, as a proud member of the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association (FAMA), we have expanded further into larger fire apparatus platforms with our larger portfolio of products and solutions. Included in our portfolio of products for the fire and EMS markets are the mpower 6×4 and mpower 7×3 lights. Our mpower line of products, designed with silicone lenses, is the first and only of its kind and has transformed LED lighting.
1 2021 Chevrolet HD4500 4×2 chassis with SoundOff Signal products including a bluePRINT® control system and mpower 7×3, mpower 6×4, and mpower 4×2 lights. (Photos courtesy of SoundOff Signal.)
FA: Describe the process used to come up with the product line.
DB: From a technology perspective, I often describe
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