Residents in the Foothills Fire Protection District in Jefferson County (CO) are raising eyebrows at a $25 million request for a new fire station, according to a report published by KDVR Fox 31.

The real cost of the station is $12.7 million but interest and other costs over the 30-year period will drive the cost closer to the requested amount of $25 million, according to the report.

Residents in the district have been protesting the ballot request at the location of the proposed station, saying the cost is too much, the report says.

The fire department says the request might be high because the district officials don’t want to have to go back to the voters because they under estimated inflation costs, the report said.

The fire district would also like to create apartments in the station to create affordable housing for firefighters, thus providing 24-hour coverage, according to the report.

Mary Steurer

Casper Star Tribune, Wyo.

(MCT)

Oct. 26—Casper firefighters want the city to replace the nearly 50-year-old old Fire Station One in downtown Casper — but city council members have reservations about the price tag.

The brown-brick building, located at the intersection of First and David Streets, was built in 1976.

Owing to its old age, the station poses a health hazard to its staff, Fire Chief Jacob Black said in a City Council work session Tuesday evening.

It’s not building code compliant or life safety compliant, Black said. There are signs of asbestos and black mold. That’s in addition to all the other unhealthy chemicals firefighters are often exposed to on duty. Cancer is a leading cause of death for firefighters, according to a 2015 study from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

“We’ve lost two of our people to cancer, and we have a third individual facing it,” Black said.

It’s unlikely renovations could save the building, he added.

The city has poured more than $250,000 into remodeling the building over the past three years. That included updates to the station’s flooring, kitchen and alarm system, according to memo from Black included in the meeting agenda.

One report estimated that building would require roughly $1.9 million in maintenance costs through 2027, the memo said.

It’s also too far away from the rest of Casper, creating service gaps. Moving the station a few blocks southwest would fix that, he said.

Black recommended that the city consider designing and building a new station downtown. The building could also squeeze in office space the department’s administration, he said.

A report by architecture firm WSFK Architects proposed four potential lots for the new building. Each was in near or in the Old Yellowstone District — three off of South Poplar Street, and a fourth on the corner of West Midwest Avenue and South Spruce Street.

Fire Station One would be the last of the city’s five fire stations to be replaced. Each were designed from the ground-up, and cost between $2 million and $3.5 million in 1-cent funding.

But those were much smaller stations — and they were built when land and materials were much less expensive.

Engineering and designing the station would cost about $1.6 million, while building it could cost another $14.5 million to $23.3 million, according to price estimates from WSFK Architects and another architecture firm, GSG Architecture.

That shakes out to about $600 per square foot. Fire Station Five was built three years ago and was only $330 per square foot, council member Kyle Gamroth, who represents Ward II, pointed out at the meeting.

Council members said it would be hard to make room for the building in the city’s current funding cycle.

“We’ve already got the next four years of 1 cent, if it passes, allocated,” said Vice Mayor Bruce Knell.

Knell also pushed back against housing the fire department’s administration in the new station. The city intended for the department’s staff to be housed in the former Casper Business Center, he said. That building, which the city bought for $8 million, will also host the Casper Police Department.

Members showed interest in at least looking for existing buildings that could successfully be converted into a new station. Black cautioned that could prove difficult — the city would have to find a building that’s in the right location and could be renovated to meet the department’s needs.

For now, the council is keeping its options op

The St. Michael City Council voted to spend up to $1.66 million for two new fire trucks that won’t be delivered for up to 38 months, according to report published by Press & News.

According to the report, the city council approved the purchase after the members learned the price on the apparatus had increased by $24,000 since September with the cost of each truck.

The city is looking to take advantage of a discount for ordering the two trucks at one and also a prepayment discount, according to the report which also added the trucks will take between 32 and 38 months to be delivered.

The Anne Arundel County (MD) Fire Department conducted a grand opening for a new fire station in Pasadena, Station 10 Jacobsville, that is more than twice the size of the one it replaces, according to report published by WMAR2 News.

According to the report, the new station is 12,000 square feet in size and sits on the same site as the former station which was just 5,000 square feet. The former fire station was a converted elementary school that was later adapted to accommodate the police department as well, the report stated.

In addition to just having more space, the new station has training rooms and workout equipment and areas for personal space, the report said, noting it has space created to separate contaminated gear from living areas with ventilation to keep firefighters safe and health, the report said.