The Olympia (Wash.) Fire Department broke ground on its Fire Station No. 4 project. The station will be 13,300 square feet and include 24-hour accommodations for six firefighters who staff two emergency vehicles.

The city set a project goal of LEED Silver as awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council. The design of the fire station reflects this both on its exterior and inside its interior spaces. The exterior character of the building integrates itself into the changing nature of the neighborhood from a residential area to a light commercial zone, highlighting the civic nature of a fire station. The exterior uses native plants and high-efficiency landscape systems to conserve water, focused exterior lighting to minimize sky-glow (light pollution), cool roofing systems to minimize heat island effect, and a wetland pond to treat water quality on site. The interior integrates sustainability through several features: a community education display on the benefits of sustainability, low-flow plumbing fixtures to conserve water, high-efficiency mechanical systems to reduce energy consumption, and high-performance windows and wall systems to improve the building envelope.

Construction will be complete in early 2011. Voters approved funding for the project, along with funding for a training campus and three pieces of fire apparatus, in the fall of 2008. The architect of record is Rice Fergus Miller Architecture & Planning.