Issaquah, Wash., is now home to one of only a handful of fire stations in U.S. to earn LEED-Platinum certification. Fire Station No. 72 station also meets the 2030 Challenge’s 2010 threshold to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60%.

The temporary Fire Station No. 72, which was built in 2000, was only designed to last five to eight years. At that time, there was no affordable land available for a permanent station. In 2006, the city of Issaquah purchased property adjacent to the new Issaquah Transit Center for the replacement facility.

The final cost of the station was about $6.6 million, which is $1.4 million under the original estimate. The station was paid for by a variety of sources, including a voter-approved bond, District 10, city capital funding and fire mitigation funds.

VIDEO: To watch a time lapse of the construction, click here.

The station’s design team employed several cost-effective ideas to create an extremely green building. The technologies include:

• A ground-source heat pump that uses the ground’s temperature to pre-warm water for heating and hot water. zHome uses the same technology.
• A heating system that pumps warm water through the station’s floors.
• A solar hot water heater.
• A tight thermal building envelope that prevents heat loss and provides for a healthier indoor environment.
• Solar panels that convert the sun’s energy into electricity. When the panels produce more power than the building uses, the excess power goes back to the electrical grid, resulting in a credit for the station’s power bill!
• Highly efficient appliances, equipment and lighting. The station also uses natural light through skylights and strategically-placed windows.
• Electric plugs and lights that shut off automatically if no one is in the room.
• An 8,700-gallon tank that collects rainwater from the station’s roof. The harvested water is then filtered and used to flush toilets, wash trucks and clean laundry. This system saves more than 55,000 gallons of water per year and provides nearly 96 percent of the station’s water needs.
• Green materials, including interior finishes that are simple, durable and locally sourced. The station is built with 77% Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified wood from responsibly-managed forests. At least 20% of the materials are made from recycled content, and more than 90% of the construction waste was recycled.
• Interior features that create a healthier indoor environment, including hard and cleanable surfaces that prevent dust build up. All materials and finishes are also extremely low in volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
• The city’s first electric vehicle charging stations.

Back in 2003, Issaquah’s Fire Station No. 73 was the first ever LEED “silver” fire station in the country.
Source: City of Issaquah