Building a fire station is an exciting endeavor, and many chiefs and fire personnel may have only one opportunity in their entire career to participate in a project with such a lasting impact. I encourage you to be prepared to plan, plan hard and research information to provide the best possible investment in your community. Since many chiefs only build one facility, you must rely on the expertise of professionals as well as other fellow fire service personnel to provide details about items you may wish to incorporate into your facility. I hope to prompt some thoughts, considerations and questions in your mind as you delve into this important adventure.

Assuming the decision to build a fire station facility has already been confirmed, where does one start? Where should it be located? How big should it be? What basic design will best meet your needs? How should you proceed? If you are open-minded, let me share some suggestions that may help you avoid some major headaches.

Getting started

After Deerfield Township’s decision to build was made, the first step was to determine who should be the owner’s representative for the project. This person, perhaps a hired representative or an internal liaison, should be able to meet a substantial time commitment with a fairly flexible schedule. Bi-monthly meetings, and eventually weekly meetings will be required for best communication with the design team and building contractors.

One of the first things you may wish to consider is having input sessions with your personnel. It's quite helpful to your architect to know what you need, as well as what you want. They do have professionals to help in this area, but having a base plan will save you time and money. Input sessions are critical for most departments because personnel take ownership in their home away from home. If you include their suggestions and give them an opportunity to participate in planning, they won’t be able to continually complain later. Trust me, it’s worth it!

Did you think of multiple bunkrooms for male and female firefighters, officers and firefighters, or engine and medic crews? Are proper decontamination facilities incorporated into your plan? Is there more storage space than you think you could ever use? Did you think of training needs, fitness plans and three shifts cooking in the kitchen? What about a laundry area with a gear washer for turnout gear? What size and type of floor drains do you want? What is the best vehicle exhaust system for your facility? Can some of your rooms be combined for cost-savings? Is your furnace accessible for maintenance? These and other critical questions can be identified by visiting neighboring stations in your region. The creativity of some departments is amazing. For example, an above-below hose tower can be used as a confined space training area. Do you want one? It could be a benefit or a liability. Each department must weigh the benefits of each item.

Can you incorporate site problems into a solution? One department had stringent water retention requirements, so they made a holding tank under their station where they could pump-test their apparatus. This may not be for every one, but being creative can pay off. You will likely not be able to have everything you want, but be prepared to justify what you ask for!

Securing funds

A critical piece of the puzzle is — you guessed it — the funding parameters! How much will it cost, or better yet, what is available for this project? There are rare opportunities for facility grants, but one creative idea called Tax Increment Financing funds, may be worth investigating. TIF funds are structured so that current infrastructure improvements can be made from future tax revenues. Borrowing from the future may not appeal to all, but the investment in your community now may bring the needed prosperity later. Consult your community’s chief financial officer and county/municipal auditor to learn more.

Some formal steps are typically involved in the process, including a Request for Qualifications to select your architect. Selecting a firm with experience in fire station projects is very helpful. They are more likely to be familiar with code and ADA requirements, specific fire and emergency facility needs, and what has and has not worked before. They will likely design a more efficient building with less wasted square footage and thus a lower construction cost. In addition, the firm you choose will walk you through the process. Individual contracts are made with the architect and each prime, but solid contract documents are available to help you. Remember that there is no need to re-invent the wheel.

Moving forward — cautiously

After initial meetings with your architect, a building program and plan will be presented for your review. This is the time to really scrutinize the plan. Confirm that all of your ideas were incorporated into the design. If you move ahead and find additional items to include later, they may cost substantially more. Planning ahead is critical. Not rushing will assure that all issues have been clearly thought through.

However, there can be times when it is very advantageous to rush certain things. Let me explain, because architects have a close tie to the construction industry, they can be very helpful to you. They know when projects are "hitting the streets", and when the window of opportunity is best for bidding. We rushed our project by a few months and were able to meet a critical bidding window. This resulted in substantial bid savings that were offset by comparatively lower costing change orders for the items we missed. Each situation is different, but this is one area of expertise that your architect can make a huge difference in your cost savings! Our architect also used a subcontracted estimator to price our building costs. We were very close to projections, and contractors bid on the material costs up front. This locked in our costs and saved us the increasing costs of building product supplies.

The RFPs are sent out to potential bidders and through special channels such as blueprint rooms where contractors frequent to keep up on forthcoming business opportunities. Your architect also knows how to spread the word. Also beware if your state has a requirement for multiple-prime bids, which are designed to save money by breaking down the bid into each specialty area. This may actually result in ineffective communications and difficult coordination of resources at critical times. The owner may need to step in and use the payment as leverage to control the scheduling. We were informed of the impact of separate prime contractors in our state, but we could never have been prepared enough for the associated challenges. When it came down to really needing to get something accomplished, we were paying the separate primes. We had to be the general contractor’s big foot when it came to encouraging primes to meet their deadlines. We held the money, and the control. This may seem beneficial, but remember that much is expected from someone who is given much responsibility.

It is particularly worthwhile to document the general contractor’s responsibilities with regard to the other prime contractors such as electrical, fire suppression, plumbing and HVAC. If they are to coordinate the scheduling, make sure everyone is held accountable. To get the most leverage out of that situation, be accountable yourself by making draw payments to contractors on time. Make sure to get a very detailed construction schedule, and watch it closely. I would go further as to say to make sure the contractors know your watching it closely, too!

One thing in this process should be familiar to firefighters and medical care providers — there is a never-ending need to document absolutely everything. I recommend a daily log to document all conversations or plans about decisions for the project. It will be very helpful if you later have disputes. Contractors are generally good about working out issues, because they want a positive recommendation for future work. Occasionally disagreements occur, but the standardized contracts have processes for resolving these conflicts.

Expect the unexpected

Some of the surprises we encountered related to the demolition portions of our project. Have you planned for an alternate, temporary firehouse facility during construction? Construction trailers are not very friendly if you have noisy neighbors. You don't always know what you will encounter in a building that is different than the dusty old blueprints you found. Be prepared for contingencies. A good architect will include contingency funds, typically 5%, into the contract. Don’t be unsuspecting if new buildings cause a few surprises of their own. New building codes and fussy inspectors can cause havoc in the form of costly change orders. Change orders are facts of life, but thorough planning can reduce these to a minimum. Often the change orders carry an automatic mark up of at least 10% profit for the general contractor. Remember that you do have some contingency funds, so don't freak out if you see a few change orders.

Could other projects in the area impact yours? We had a sudden road improvement impact our facility plan. It affected the elevations, driveways and our timetable. Talk about costly — revised engineering, trouble with coordination and lots of headaches. Utility issues can also pop up unexpectedly. We were lucky enough to get our water tap fees waived, saving us $92,000 in potentially unexpected costs. Early planning with a cooperative attitude can save monumental headaches and costs in these areas. A new sewer line also caused us to make temporary plans with slight delays.

Our architects were with us through the entire process, with an incredible array of professional services to assist us. We were, on occasion, dealing with multiple representatives with particular specialties. Don’t expect that one person will always walk you through the entire project by himself or herself. We had to adjust to several people working on our project. The specialties were exceptional, but the continuity was slightly awkward. This continuity may be desired, but take advantage of the specialties within the firm you selected. The team they have put together will work out well in the finished product.

Warrantees are a critical part of the building process. Get the value out of what you paid for by holding contractors and manufacturers to their warrantee specifications. It will result in a lasting value to your department. Good architects will also document and photograph progress at each meeting. These are valuable later when memories become fuzzy.

If something doesn’t go right, or actually even if it does go well, make sure to communicate with the other parties involved. They want a happy customer, and you will be proud that you served your community by providing a quality service facility.

Nathan Bromen is the Deputy Fire Chief of Deerfield Township (Ohio) Fire-Rescue. As the owner’s representative, he coordinated the plans for the renovation of one existing station and developed the base plan for a new, 9,300 square foot station. He also worked on facility plans for two other departments with which he was previously employed. Deerfield Township is one of the fastest growing communities in Ohio, in a northern suburban community in northeastern Cincinnati. The department is planning to add another station in the next few years, which will be the fourth currently serving Deerfield Township. Bromen can be reached at 513-459-0875.