The new 38,000-square-foot Fire Safety Center in Eagan, Minn., features the first fire station in the United States certified by the international facilities sustainability program, Green Globes.

The center includes a fire station, emergency operations center, administration space, firefighter dormitories, police evidence storage, and shared-use training space.

With the second-largest volunteer fire department in Minnesota, the city of Eagan located the new Center nearer to where their firefighters live for faster emergency turn-out time. The facility is located on a centralized four-acre site to provide a high level of emergency response to Eagan’s residents and businesses.

The project features:

• More than two miles of geothermal tubing in the fire apparatus bays provide in-floor heating to de-ice fire trucks, reducing the time it takes to prepare fire vehicles to return to service.
• Geothermal ground-source heating and cooling pumps have an estimated seven-year payback.
• Energy-efficient LED parking lighting and natural indoor daytime lighting.
• White roof reflects solar light and heat for a “cool roof” that minimizes heat island effect.
• Native low-impact plant landscaping and rain gardens require no irrigation.
• Catch basin and filtration system minimizes site stormwater runoff.
• Antique fire truck display room features wood planking recycled from trees cleared from the site
• Pervious paver parking lot reduces stormwater runoff

SEH provided design and construction support services.