You know it's time to start thinking about constructing a new fire station when the mirrors on the engine scrape the bay door jambs, the mop sink has been converted into a decontamination area, EMS supplies are stored everywhere except near the bays and turnout gear is being dried in the mechanical room adjacent to the archived personnel records. This is quite typical of a department's transition from the functionally obsolete stations constructed through the mid-1960s.

After planning and more planning, followed by an extensive number-crunching process, a small miracle happens: funding is obtained to construct a new facility. Unfortunately, that's not the end of the story. Overlaying the familiar operational design issues are code and zoning requirements, traffic issues, stormwater management requirements, neighborhood compatibility issues and environmental concerns. How do long-term costs add up? According to the U.S. Department of Energy, roughly 2% of the 30-year cost of a building is spent on its initial construction, 6% is expended on operations and maintenance, and 92% is spent on the people who occupy and work in the building.

Is there a way to address operational issues, reduce long-term costs, improve facilities for the valuable people who will be working there and improve the environmental impact from these facilities? There is an answer: Sustainable design.

Economics & environment

Sustainable design encompasses a “design intent on balancing environmental responsiveness, resource efficiency, and cultural and community sensitivity,” according to the U.S. Green Building Council. While some cities are just becoming familiar with the concept of sustainability, others already have built a substantial portfolio of these new facilities. For example, Seattle mandates that any new publicly funded building with more than 5,000 gross square feet of occupied space achieve a minimum silver rating in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

LEED is a market-driven, consensus-based rating system for “green design” that developed out of a 1994 USGBC pilot project. The system is organized into six categories by which sustainable design can be measured:

• Sustainable sites,
• Water efficiency,
• Energy and atmosphere,
• Indoor environmental quality,
• Materials and resources, and
• Innovation and design.

Pennsylvania, Oregon and Washington have more LEED-certified projects per capita, per construction gross state product than any other states across the country. According to The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Building Design, an October 2003 report to California's Sustainable Building Taskforce prepared by Capital E Group, Lawrence Berkley Laboratory and 40 California state governmental agencies, “the cost and financial benefits of Green Buildings demonstrates that the financial benefits exceed the cost by a factor of 10 to one.”

It's suggested that this report is the most definitive cost-benefit analysis of green buildings ever conducted. Because of this study, the California Department of Finance has acknowledged the existence of financial benefits associated with improved health and productivity and lowered operation and maintenance costs in green buildings. While this is not specific to fire stations, many of the findings would apply.

A bold first step

Eastside Fire & Rescue's Fire Station #73 was the first LEED-certified silver fire station in the country, situated in a 2,000-acre development in the hills above Issaquah, Wash. The Port Blakely Communities development is interwoven within a complex open-space system based on existing wetlands and parkland area. The community has a strong “green ethic” with aggressive clean-water standards and sensitive aquifer recharge issues.

The fire station project began with cost-containment issues because the initial master-planned facility didn't fully address department needs. During the construction document phase, the council looked at value engineering options to save money, but significant savings were just not available without severe operational ramifications.

Instead of cutting first costs, the mayor and city council decided LEED certification was the answer. By certifying the station, the city felt they could reduce long-term operating and capital costs based on life-cycle cost savings, increase energy efficiency, protect and enhance the environment, and reduce environmental impact. “We determined that we wanted to lead by example, and it was the city's turn to step up,” says City Council Member Nancy Davidson.

At the time the city was watching other jurisdictions discuss sustainability, but few built projects had been certified anywhere in the country. In 2002-03 the city already was in the process of implementing a green building program; now they felt the fire station could be the crown jewel of that effort. “Many had concerns that it was to late to pursue certification,” says Brad Liliquist, the city's green building adviser. “However, after a review of the design, obtaining certification appeared feasible.”

Are fire stations different from non-essential buildings? In short, yes. When designing a fire station, rarely do fire departments say, “One of our top goals is sustainability.” Generally, they want facilities that are supportive of operational activities, energy-efficient, low-maintenance, durable and fit into the community. In the Station #73 project, the department was concerned that sustainable design would lead to specifying cheap materials that would not hold up over time or exotic systems based on unproven technology. The department didn't want to be the sustainable guinea pigs.

Some found it conceptually difficult to allocate funds for the LEED registration and review process, which goes directly to the U.S Green Building Council, in addition to allocating funds to compile and submit the significant amount of paperwork and documentation for the certification process. If additional money was being spent, why shouldn't it all go into first costs, the bricks and mortar of the station? For many departments, history tells them they will be able to go to the well only once.

Prior to implementing this decision, Mayor Ava Frisinger wanted to make sure this move toward sustainability wouldn't negatively affect departmental functions. After the operational impacts were reviewed, an additional $100,000, or 2.8% of the entire project budget, was allocated to cover the increased cost of certification and incorporate additional sustainable design elements.

There were many other questions. Would the long-term cost savings outweigh the political ramifications of approving additional funds? Could a facility that had shared community amenities such as restrooms for an adjacent park, a community room and a small police facility reduce the impact of the station on the neighborhood? Would the station encourage other developers to pay even greater attention to sustainability issues within the city? And finally, could all this be done and still effectively support the operational requirements of the fire department?

Immediate benefits

During construction, 45% of the materials incorporated into the station were manufactured within a 500-mile radius of the job site. More than 50% of those products were extracted and harvested within that same vicinity. Throughout the station, conventional products containing recycled material are abundant: acoustical ceiling tiles, rubber mat flooring, linoleum and insulation with 25% post-consumer recycled content. All of these are commonly found materials that have had proven success and are readily available industry wide.

Previous concerns about cheap green materials also have been alleviated. The materials selected, such as rubber flooring, brick, paint and reinforced steel, look the same as what the firefighters are familiar with and as a result have become a non-issue.

Other products, which are newer to the industry, include zero-VOC paints and low — VOC adhesives and sealants (reducing solvent off-gassing, which creates hazardous air pollutants and ozone on ultraviolet exposure), strawboard cabinet cores in lieu of off-gassing plywood, water-saving dual-flush toilets, and cartridge-based waterless urinals.

Invisible strategies taken during construction include areas such as indoor air-quality management and construction waste management. The benefits of better indoor air quality were noticed right away. During the open house, one of the firefighters pointed out to his tour group that it is odd to go into a building after it is first built and not smell fresh paint, carpet and adhesives. Whether he was aware of the value of that statement or not, physically he will be better off as a result.

One of the more prominent features is a rainwater catchment system that harvests rainwater in an underground cistern. From an operations perspective, the system, which accounts for 1% of the total project cost, also has been well-received. The pressurized water is used for washing apparatus, apparatus bays and the apron area. Because of this design innovation, the department has seen immediate savings in both water and sewer fees. This system will reduce the burden on the municipal water supply and wastewater systems by conservatively saving approximately 4,500 gallons of water per year for the life of the facility.

Shortcomings

While there are several pros that resulted from the sustainable design, there are also a few cons. One item that has affected operations is the bio-diesel standby generator, which runs on B-100, a vegetable oil — based diesel. While the generator has been working fine and reduces CO₂ emissions in the community, the fuel must be rotated more rapidly than diesel. Since the generator only cycles 45 minutes per week, fueling operations have changed and the generator fuel tank is now used to top-off vehicles.

During construction, windows were substituted that changed the shading coefficient of the glazing, slightly reducing the amount of natural light coming through the windows. As a result, the station didn't receive daylighting credit. With most projects, the myriad sub-contractors are the most difficult for the contractor to control. In one instance, the wrong paint was applied in the restrooms, requiring an interpretation from USGBC to determine if the averaging of VOC and chemical component limits within the facility was acceptable. This shows the regimen that must be adhered to during the installation and documentation process. There is an interrelationship of all the parts that simply can't be overlooked.

Another inconvenience at the station is the absence of a light shining up toward the American flag. Without this light, the flag must be taken down every evening to be in conformance with the Federal Flag Code. This feature was removed due to the requirements of Credit 8: Light Pollution. This credit primarily addresses the concerns of nocturnal habitat impact and energy waste. Fortunately, after many complaints, this credit is being reevaluated by the USGBC to determine if an exception can be made.

With anything new, there are risks involved. Concerned with not having enough points to achieve a silver rating, a 33-38 point requirement out of a possible 69 points, the city purchased “green energy.” This credit is given to projects that can show that a minimum of 50% of the building's electricity comes from renewable sources for two years as defined by the Center for Resource Solutions. This decision was somewhat controversial given that there was no direct value to the facility. This credit was not actually needed to achieve the desired level of certification, as the project was ultimately awarded 36 points.

Where do we go from here?

Since the station's completion in the summer of 2003, there has been some time to digest the process and kick the tires of the new station. While an in-depth post-occupancy evaluation is still in progress, overall feedback thus far has been positive. Not only has the station increased exposure to the city's strong green ethics, the city is already seeing developers follow in these footsteps by providing more sustainable options within the community's marketplace.

The fire department also was pleased to find that the sustainable elements incorporated into the facility do not affect station operations and often go unnoticed. Deputy Chief Wes Collins says, “The facility functions well, looks good and provides a healthier environment for the crews who are exposed to a variety of toxins in the line of duty.”

Given the opportunity to construct a new sustainable fire station in the future, both the city and the fire department agree that it is to everyone's long-term benefit. Budgets must, however, recognize and incorporate the initial first costs relative to the long-term savings. Reducing the initial construction budget to incorporate sustainability generally results in a facility of diminished quality or size. A budgetary line item should be established at the beginning of the project to ensure this doesn't occur.

Both parties also agreed that any future building should be designed as a high-performance facility that first meets operational needs, in addition to incorporating innovative architectural design solutions that support human factors, hit economic targets and include the appropriate sustainable design features unique to the community. Instead of taking a component approach as required by the timing of their decision, next time they will take a collaborative, non-linear approach early in the project.

A neighboring department in the city of Snoqualmie has learned from Issaquah's efforts and is translating early sustainable goals into attainable benchmarks that are resulting in a more integrated design solution in their new fire station. Sustainable building orientations, daylighting, ventilation and material selections can all be integrated to work together early in the project at an affordable price.

As more stations are certified and analyzed relative to operational performance, transitioning the perceived gap between sustainable design aspirations and operations will become easier. So whether you are deep green, light green or brown in your design philosophies, as more projects are constructed and tested, the operational demands of this building type will begin to show both designers and owners what works well and what does not for emergency facilities.

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Brian J. Harris, AIA, is a principal of TCA Architecture Planning in Seattle. He has been involved in the planning and design of more than 75 fire, rescue and emergency facilities throughout the western United States. Over the last 40 years, TCA has planned more than 150 fire facilities and has LEED-certified professionals on staff.