Aug. 09--NORMAN -- Eleven firefighters will eventually make the new fire station on Alameda Street east of 24th Avenue Southeast their part-time home. The $3.7 million building has many LEED certified components. Solar tubes provide free-energy lighting in the offices, and the facility uses geothermal heat and air. No. 9 has more LEED elements than Fire Station No. 8, Norman Fire Chief James Fullingim said.
No. 9 also cost more -- $250 per square foot -- but the higher price tag is based on the bidding environment, additional concrete used and the larger detention pond required at No. 9, Fullingim said.
This newest fire station will eventually have an eastside library and community center as a neighbor on the city-owned plot of land, but that construction is down the road.
No. 9 also will be able to operate as an Emergency Operations Center -- a command center in the case of emergencies or disasters. The new fire house has a very large generator capable of powering the entire structure. That generator kicks on if the power shuts down.
The supersized generator is powered by natural gas with diesel as a backup. There is also an office for police to use during emergency operations.
"The Moore tornado (response efforts) were run out of the fire station," Police Capt. David Teuscher said.
Norman had to operate out of a church during its last disaster on the east side of town. Norman Police have an eastside supervisor captain and several lieutenants who can operate out of the new command office.
Norman firefighters work 24-hour shifts, making the station a home-away from home. Those firefighters will have a quality commercial kitchen at Station No. 9. Fullingim said because the station is considered a commercial building, commercial kitchen specifications are required by code.
Initially, five people will be assigned to the new station. By spring, it should house 10, Fullingim said.
One of two tankers being purchased with Public Safety Sales Tax funds will be housed at the new station while the other tanker will go to Fire Station No. 8. That should help reduce home insurance rates in nearby rural areas, Fullingim said, improving the ISO rating for those areas.
"That's a significant savings for people," Fullingim said.
The station is jmore than 15,000 square feet and is expected to respond to 150 original calls per month. That will provide relief for fire stations No. 1 and No. 3. It also will reduce the distance of responses for No. 6.
The fire station officer will have a private office and quarters. Other firefighters will share a group office and will share quarters. Bathrooms are more private, with two men assigned per bathroom. Two of the bathrooms are tornado safe and will have enough space only for the firefighters. Those safe rooms are not large enough to accommodate the public and will not be open to the public, Fullingim said.
Recycling bins are available near the kitchen, and the quarters are designed so there are two direct routes to the apparatus room closest to where people spend most of their time. The goal is to get firefighters to their suits and trucks within a minute.
The firehouse contains a locker room and a weight room with cardio and weight lifting equipment to keep the men healthy and fit. Fullingim said heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death for firefighters and the city is addressing that.
Additionally, a weight room provides a healthy way for the guys to pass some time. The department is encouraging an hour of exercise per day. Firefighters also do their own cooking, cleaning and laundry.
Eventually the large garage will house a fire engine with a ladder, a brush pumper and a tanker.
Landscaping around the building is indigenous and drought tolerant, though there will be a small amount of Bermuda grass. The firefighters also will do the yardwork.
Currently, all of Norman's firefighters are men. Fullingim said Norman had the first woman firefighter in the state, but she left in 1980. A decade ago, a female cadet made it through the training and was offered a job, but she declined. Less than 1 percent of applicants are females, and it's been 10 years since one finished the academy.
Not all fire departments in the United States still use the 24-hour shift system, but Norman has retained it because it builds teamwork and provides continuity.
"Every shift becomes like a family," Fullingim said.
Joy Hampton
366-3539
jhampton@
normantranscript.com
Copyright 2013 - The Norman Transcript, Okla.
