DATE: Tuesday, August 19, 1997              TAG: 9708180156

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: PUBLIC SAFETY

SOURCE: BY CINDY CLAYTON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:  114 lines

NORFOLK'S NEW FIRE STATION BIGGER, BETTER & SAFER

This week, about 45 firefighters will move into Station 1, the city's newest and the area's largest fire station.

The cost of the two-story firehouse at St. Paul's Boulevard and Wood Street - including the purchase of the 1.8-acre lot it sits on - was about $3.8 million.

Just what will the city's taxpayers get for their money? More than a large brick-and-steel building.

It is chock-full of gadgets, devices and safeguards that are on the cutting edge of firehouse technology - from the way firefighters clean their gear to the way they are housed.

Even the new brass fire poles have a few surprises.

When the bell rings and firefighters have to jump out of bed, they will slide down into the apparatus bay by way of two weight-sensitive fire poles. The hole in the floor that each pole passes through is covered with barriers that open like clam shells when someone grabs the pole. Capt. John Forbes said the barriers keep exhaust from the fire engines from traveling through the ceiling to the second floor.

The station even has a small library with study aids for firefighters who are updating their certification to work aboard ambulances.

The firefighters, assigned to the station in three shifts, will be able to go online while they are at the station. The building is wired with access to the Fire Department's computer systems and to City Hall. Internet access also will be available.

One special device in the new firehouse is a special washing machine designed to extract carcinogens and body fluids from firefighters' gear. When firefighters return from a fire scene, they can strip off their outer gear and throw it into the 85-pound washer.

Since firefighters have to be protected from fire like anyone else, a special fire alarm system called ``rate of rise'' was installed at Station 1. The system measures the ambient pressure or the normal temperature in a room. ``If the temperature goes up a certain rate within a certain period of time, the alarm goes off,'' Forbes said. ``Prior to this station, we equipped all the stations like a home - with a smoke alarm in the kitchen and shower.''

But the problem with smoke alarms in the stations is that they tend to be triggered by moisture or cooking oils in the air, Forbes said. ``The rate-of-rise system isn't necessarily new, but the prices of them have come down to where they are a reasonable investment,'' he said. ``The rate-of-rise detector is usually associated with factories, paint shops or processing plants.''

To keep down the buildup of noxious fumes inside the bay, a special exhaust system has been installed over each of its five massive doors. The system consists of hoses that can be attached to engines and other vehicles. The exhaust from the vehicle can be sucked into the hose and out of the bay.

The bay doors are controlled inside a constantly manned watch room surrounded by bulletproof glass. Each of the doors has a photoelectric eye that will stop the door from closing completely if someone passes through while the door is in motion.

Relatively new fire stations, like Station 7, across from Old Dominion University, had similar technology, Forbes said. Those stations have a system controlled by a pressure-sensitive plate buried in the concrete outside the doors.

``It didn't work as well as we hoped it would. The photoelectric systems are more inexpensive and easier to repair,'' Forbes said.

The person assigned to the watch room also can control the traffic light at the intersection of Wood and St. Paul's by pushing a button.

Inside the main, two-story portion of the building are work rooms for hose, tank and mask repair and for ladder testing. There are four offices for station officers and for the shift commander, as well as a large conference room. The building has an elevator and is accessible to people with disabilities.

The 21,600-square-foot station, with an apparatus bay that can hold 11 vehicles, was designed by the TAF Group of Virginia Beach. The TAF Group has designed close to 30 fire stations across the state, said Michel C. Ashe, vice president and director of architecture.

Paramedics who work a 24-hour shift will sleep in a bunk room on the first floor. The rest of the living quarters are on the second floor with a large kitchen and pantry, a day room/classroom, locker rooms, two suites with bathrooms for officers, and an exercise room to help firefighters stay in shape.

The 10-bed bunk room has hospital curtains that slide around each bed area. The curtains provide an extra measure of privacy for men and women who have to sleep in the same room.

``The way we house firefighters when they are on duty is very important because of the important service they provide,'' Ashe said. ``Before we designed the project, we visited some other fire stations across the city, particularly the newer ones.''

Station 1 was designed to be a safe harbor for downtown residents during major storms, Ashe said. ``We designed a building that will be the focus of activity in an emergency situation.''

They included a backup generator, Ashe said.

The building was constructed to withstand 100- to 125-mph winds. Its steel truss roof is reputed to be as strong as an airplane hangar's.

Norfolk last opened a fire station in 1995. Station 7, on 42nd Street, cost $1.4 million. Station 1 is more than twice the size and will serve as the Fire Department's main fire station, its showpiece.

Formerly, Station 1 was located on City Hall Avenue, near St. Paul's Boulevard. But that station was torn down to make way for the new MacArthur Center Mall.

``I went to the original headquarters on Plume Street back in '74,'' Forbes said. ``Then we moved into the City Hall Avenue location, and that was an improvement.''

And the new building, he said, will have staying power. ``I think the taxpayers are getting their money's worth out of this one. It'll be there for a long time.'' ILLUSTRATION: NHAT MEYER/The Virginian-Pilot photos\ At Wood Street

and St. Paul's Boulevard in Norfolk, Station 1 will open this month.

Graphic

SOME OF THE STATION'S FEATURES

[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]

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