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By Alan M. Petrillo

The San Luis Obispo (CA) County Regional Airport Fire Station is unusual in a couple of ways: It is unique in its design that is fashioned like the wing of an aircraft, and it functions as the station for airport aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) response, as well as municipal fire protection for the southern and eastern parts of the city of San Luis Obispo.

"This county station is a contract station with CALFIRE," says Mark Cameron, CALFIRE captain. "What we call the red side has county-owned fire apparatus, while the green side has airport-owned apparatus. All of our firefighters are cross-trained and ARFF-qualified to meet the requirements for an ARFF Index B airport, which means the largest aircraft we get on a regular basis are 90-passenger regional jets." The airport handles approximately 20 commercial flights and 100 general aviation flights daily.

The 9,500-square-foot station apparatus room has three bays, double deep, that accommodate both municipal and ARFF apparatus. The $2.8 million station was funded with 50 percent of the money coming from a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant, and the other half from San Luis Obispo County.

The municipal apparatus include a 2009 Smeal Type 1 engine with a 1,500-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pump and 500-gallon water tank; a 2007 West-Mark International 7600 chassis water tender with a 1,000-gpm pump and 2,500-gallon water tank; a 2009 SVI Trucks heavy rescue carrying a Type 2 urban search and rescue (USAR), Type 2 swift water, and medium mass casualty incident (MCI) complements; and an inflatable boat with a 30-hp outboard motor. The ARFF fleet is made up of two Oshkosh 1,500-gpm ARFF vehicles and a mass casualty truck that carries medical supplies to treat up to 100 victims.

The design of the station is built in the shape of an airfoil or wing, says Larry Enyart, president of LEA Architects, who designed and built the station. "It was an intensive work process working on site with the users," Enyart says. "We had to consider maneuvering areas for both the municipal and ARFF apparatus, existing buildings that had to be replaced, and removal of dilapidated hangers at the site. The airfoil design was inspired by the aviation components of the aircraft, and echoes the feeling of the gently rolling hills nearby."

Enyart points out that LEA designed shade areas on the structure to function as if they were flaps on the wing of an aircraft, and that it used local and regional masonry materials for both durability and sound control in the station. "This station is designed to be the home away from home for those who serve their shifts there," he says, "so it has to be a comfortable place to live and work."

Cameron notes that the previous station had only 900 square feet of living space, compared with 4,500 square feet of living space in the new station. "In our old station, we could see the airport from every room, so we wanted visibility in the new station too," he says. "LEA was very responsive to our needs in that sense, and the amount of window space we have compared to other AFFF stations is very high. Our new training room looks out over the runways and can b

By Ken Newell, AIA, LEED-AP BD+C

“Learn from other people’s mistakes.” That is a quote we have all heard and desire to apply to our own life experiences. Unfortunately, another quote is more often applicable to everyone’s situation: “What we learn most from history, is that we don’t learn from history.”

With more than four decades of designing more than 350 public safety facilities, our firm has witnessed numerous, common pitfalls encountered by organizations planning, designing, and constructing fire stations. The most common, in no particular order, follow.

Not Having Facility End Users on the Design Committee
People who are actually going to be housed in the facility should be on the committee that selects the designer and works with the designer throughout the process. This makes for a better building and happier end-users.

Underestimating the Time Required for the Project
An understanding of how long it takes to plan, design, prepare construction documents, obtain agency approvals, bid, and construct the facility is crucial in determining your overall project schedule and starting soon enough to meet your time expectations.

Underestimating the Budget Required for the Project
Most departments that have not recently built a commercial building—especially a modern fire station—are greatly surprised at how expensive they can be. Make sure to use cost projections based on recent station projects that are detailed similar to the facility you expect.

Shown is the recently completed Jacksonville (NC) Station No. 2. (Photo courtesy of Stewart-Cooper-Newell Architects.)

Selecting Designers Inexperienced in Public Safety Facilities
Any good architect should be capable of learning how to design the best station to fit your needs. But do you really want them to learn how on your project? Selecting the experienced designer will result in saving significant money on bid day, during construction, and throughout the life of the facility.

Selecting a Bad Site
There are many site characteristics and conditions that will guarantee a more expensive design fee and a higher construction cost. Identifying these issues before the site is selected will ensure a lower project cost. The “free” or “cheap” site does not always prove to be so. 

Not Acquiring Available, Adjacent Property
If property adjacent to the site you are considering is available for purchase, seriously consider the acquisition. Most stations will need to be expanded during their life spans.

Not Informing the Public or Neighborhood of Plans
Good communications with the taxpayers and/or neighbors is the best way to avoid public protests. Have some well-timed and well-announced public meetings to at least provide an opportunity for public education and input.

Include a Construction Contingency Allowance
A construction contingency allowance is a specified sum of money identified in the contractor’s bid that is designed to be a pool from which potential unforeseen expenditures during construction, such as unknown rock or unsuitable soils, can be paid. The contingency allowance can also cover changes to the project that you identify during construction that will require additional construction costs. Whatever is not spent from the contingency allowance at the end of construction will simply be returned to the department.

Planning Without Growth Expectations
Site size and layout, along with building size and layout, will be significantly dif