This facility was a Career 1 notable selection in Firehouse's 2018 Station Design Awards. Find the full list of winners here.
The City of Eau Claire needed a new satellite station to replace existing Fire Station No. 10 on the city’s East Side. The design team used a comprehensive GIS study to review potential site locations, with a selected site that was densely vegetated, but was known to be a former waste disposal area in the early 1900s.
Based on historic topographic maps, there was a ravine at the proposed site, which locals used to fill with various materials. Geo-technical data indicated that half the station could be placed in the upper northwest corner of the property and still be located in virgin soils, while the other half of the station would need excavation to depths of 30 feet to remove these materials. A phase 2 environmental site assessment was completed, indicating a passive vapor system be installed under the slab of the building. In the fall of 2017, construction began.
When entering the main entrance, in the vestibule sits a display area complete with historical information about the department, a lobby and a training room that can be used by various other groups but still remains secure from the rest of the department with a watch office looking over the apparatus approach.
The living quarters are complete with kitchen, dining, day and exercise rooms, as well as gender-neutral toilet/showers and six dorm rooms. The new station includes five drive-through bays, of which two were bid as an alternate bid to the project. The apparatus bay support area includes a maintenance room, SCBA work room, EMS storage and a state-of-the-art decontamination area, with segregated gear storage, gear laundry, decontamination showers with steam abilities and a clean laundry area.
Architect/Firm Name: Steve Gausman/Five Bugles Design, a division of Wendel.
