When the city of Hudson, N.Y., began discussing the consolidation of fire protection services, it meant a big change for the five independent companies that had long served this riverfront community located 100 miles north of New York City. The oldest company was founded in 1794, and traditions ran deep. Each of the companies was headquartered in its own one-truck station, and all were located right on the sidewalk within a nine-block radius in the city’s historic district. Two of the stations shared a common wall. All of the fire stations were well over or fast approaching 100 years of age, and all were in various stages of disrepair. Major overhauls were needed and the stations also were too small.

In 2000, the need to do something moved to the forefront when the city ordered a new tower ladder to replace a 100-foot ladder purchased in 1976 that had failed its safety inspection. No manufacturer was able to provide a truck that would fit into any of the existing stations. When the new tower ladder arrived in 2001, it had to be housed off-site, more than one mile from its fire station.

It was clear that something needed to be done. A consolidation committee was formed in 2002. It included members of each company, as well as past chiefs, commissioners and officers. The goal was to include all the stakeholders in planning a facility that would maintain the individual identities of the separate companies, while creating a modern environment for shared apparatus, operations, administration, training, recreation and social activities.

The committee understood that there would be difficulties in bringing the members of the various companies under one roof, since a majority of the membership only knew members of other companies from working at fires and at multi-company drills. They were aware that there would be personality challenges and conflicts to overcome. In addition, one company was insistent that it remain in its own station and never participated.

In 2002, the city acquired a 7,640- square-foot vacant warehouse on a half-acre site, five blocks outside the center of town, where it temporarily housed an engine, the new tower ladder and a rescue truck. The design involved renovating the existing structure and adding 15,113 square feet of new space. The result was a building that reflects the most current thinking about the needs of the firefighters and the community. It features indoor training facilities with ladder evolutions, rappelling, confined-space extrication, mask-confidence training and a classroom, as well as a FEMA-funded cardio-health facility. The meeting/training room and kitchen are available to the community.

Two adjacent houses were purchased and demolished, and the city realigned the street, creating a 1.4-acre site that accommodates the 22,724-square-foot station, 44 parking spaces, 50-foot-deep aprons and two drive-through bays, as well as areas for outdoor training and recreation. The trucks responding from the building temporarily were relocated, leaving a vacant structure where the renovation would not cause any disruption or require any phasing of construction to maintain operations.

Incorporating an existing structure into a new building can be a serious challenge. If the shape or height of the existing structure does not lend itself to the new use, or the structure is of inadequate strength or is damaged, it is possible that demolition is more cost effective. In this case, the existing structure was a sturdy, simple rectangle that was easy to subdivide. The existing building was stripped to its shell, starting over with new utilities. The ability to reuse the building’s foundation, slab and structure — which eliminated the cost of demolition or site development had it been necessary to select a new location — saved approximately $380,000.

The existing structure was built of concrete block, with wood roof framing. As is usually the case with these buildings, it was not suited to be a modern apparatus bay, but was easily able to house offices, meeting rooms and social rooms. A new masonry apparatus bay was built 25 feet from the existing structure, and the space between was filled in with rooms that housed radio, exercise and mechanical equipment, as well as a meeting room for the local Explorers program.

A key to successfully combining old and new was to completely surround the existing structure with new construction, providing a uniform masonry exterior. In the resulting building, it is impossible to identify the original warehouse and the entire station looks like a new building, built all at one time.

Benefits are Four-Fold

The new fire station provides four essential benefits. First, the department has a new, low-maintenance, energy-efficient station. Second, the new station permits the four participating companies to operate as separate administrative units while also working together effectively as a single department. Third, consolidation has improved response time and enabled cost-saving purchasing and efficient use of apparatus. Fourth, the building has brought the members together to socialize and train. The shared apparatus, social and administrative spaces are the core of the facility. Department members are not only running calls together as a unit, but get together on down time, as well. There is a steady schedule of social life at the station for the members, such as NASCAR Sundays and other events that use the busy commercial kitchen.

The individual rooms for each company have allowed them to successfully maintain their historical records and memorabilia as a tribute to their company's legacy. Each company maintains separate executive and line officers who supervise their own members. However, when they respond, the members of the company are supervised by the officer on the apparatus they are responding with, and to the departmental hierarchy.

The Joy of Predictability

When the apparatus were in separate stations, it was impossible to predict which truck would respond first. Having all of the apparatus in one station allows the response to take place in a predefined order, based on the type of call. When the minimum staffing level is met, the "first out" truck for the type of call responds with a full crew.

The new station facilitates maintenance and repair of the apparatus. In the old stations, the apparatus had only one or two feet of space on the sides; now there is plenty of room for cleaning and general maintenance. Instead of having to pull onto the street for routine maintenance, apparatus cabs can be lifted inside the bays and all repairs done out of traffic and weather. A maintenance shop located directly off the apparatus bays allows most minor repairs to be completed in-house by members. Trench drains under each truck, in-floor radiant heat and an epoxy resin finish result in a clean, dry and slip-resistant floor.

Having all apparatus under one roof and having the appropriate office space located in the station has streamlined operations and simplified data-collection operations. This could not have taken place previously, when the one-room department office was located on the third floor of a city-owned building, a distance from the operating stations. This improvement in data collection has resulted in cost savings. Response data demonstrated that one of the engines was grossly underused. Armed with this information, along with the fact that the rescue truck badly needed replacement, the department successfully lobbied city officials to replace two engines and the rescue truck with one rescue engine. This move is estimated to save the city approximately $800,000 over the next 10 years.

The apparatus bay provides training opportunities in addition to those located in the meeting room and on the site. A portable wall system is used on the mezzanine for mask-confidence training. The walls can be moved and put in any configuration in a matter of minutes. A training window on the mezzanine is used for escape rope and ladder training. A confined-space hatch allows training of members for extraction of downed firefighters from above or from below.

When asked what should have been done differently, the former chief who saw the project through to completion brought up two points. First, the location can be a detriment to recruitment. The chief commented, "Out of sight, out of mind. It has been challenging to recruit new members. The old stations were right on the main street of the city. The new station is on a side street off the beaten path and hardly ever seen by non-members."

Second, when the station was designed with a commercial kitchen and meeting room, it was not anticipated that these spaces would be in such high demand from outside groups, who use the space several times a week. A 2-story building would have provided greater privacy for the department.

Each renovation project offers challenges and advantages, and most have a solution. The trick is being able to envision a cost-effective solution. For the Hudson project, the major challenge was designing a building that would allow the four merging companies to retain their identities and at the same time become one cohesive unit. The major advantages were that it was a simple and sound structure, there was available adjacent land, and the building could be vacated to simplify the construction process.

Ed.: The architect of record for this project was Mitchell-Ross Associates Architects, P.C., in Voorheesville, N.Y.

Robert Mitchell, AIA, is principal of Mitchell Associates Architects in Voorheesville, N.Y. He has been a designer, builder and architect for more than 30 years, and has focused almost exclusively on public-safety facilities since 1993. Mitchell has completed more than 50 feasibility studies evaluating renovations and additions versus building new. Timothy Hutchings has been a firefighter with the Hudson (N.Y.) Fire Department for 29 years and has served in all line-officer positions, including chief of department.

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