The Issaquah Press, Issaquah, WA
Wednesday, November 27, 2002
By: Stacy Goodman

BIG RED FIREHOUSE GOES FOR GREEN RATING

While exterior paint colors for the new fire station at Issaquah Highlands have not yet been chosen, the building will definitely be green. The 11,000 square foot station under construction on Park Drive – just one block from the future Town Center in the heart of the new urban village – is being built to earn the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification.

Station 73 will be the first public project in Issaquah to have earned such distinction, although the city is crafting a green-building incentive program to encourage similar environmentally friendly private development.

“And we’re trying to lead by example with the fire station,” said City Councilwoman Nancy Davidson, who pushed for the city to spend the extra $55,000 for the energy-efficient design. “The fire station provides an opportunity for the city to leverage to get other green buildings for all the development that’s happening here.”

Among the fire station’s energy-efficient qualifies:

• A system for catching rainwater from the roof that will be used to wash fire engines.
• A generator that uses bio-diesel fuel.
• Additional equipment so the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system runs more efficiently.
• Drought-tolerant landscaping so there’s no need for an irrigation system.
• Use of recycled and local products, which cuts down on the transportation of materials.
• 75% of the waste from the job site will be recycled.
• Use of glues, adhesives and paint that emit low levels of volatile organic compounds.
• Recycled paint.

Developer Port Blakely Communities is building the fire station for $2.85 million then turning it over to the city.

“(The developer) likes to call us Sierra Club Construction because we’re building a green building for them,” said Jim Riley, project manager for the general contractor, Sierra Construction of Woodinville.

The frame of the new three-bay station is nearly complete and the roof trusses were hoisted into place last week. Construction should be complete in March. At that point Eastside Fire and Rescue (EFR) will get the keys then install computers, the tone system and other internal systems before the station opens late next summer.

The station, which will serve areas outside Issaquah Highlands as well, will open when the new Sunset interchange on Interstate 90 opens fully.

“ We can’t really open that station until the crews can respond ( via the new Sunset interchange) ,” said EFR Deputy Chief Wes Collins.

And undetermined is whether to hire three additional firefighters or use existing staff. Collins said that when the regional EFR formed nearly four years ago, the consolidation agreement was silent on who has the responsibility to pay for new stations and staff.

The two-story three-bay station features a community room that the public can use for meetings of up to about 30 people, a hazardous-materials wash-down area, a kitchen, a dining room, sleeping quarters, a living area, an exercise room, an elevator and a covered porch. The porch overlooks Firehouse Park, a small public park with a basketball court and play equipment.

The station also will have a hose tower, which at one time was where firefighters hung hoses to be dried; they now use drying racks.

The idea is to make this look like a more traditional firehouse, so it blends in with the neighborhood,” said Rick Reininger, project manager with Port Blakely Communities.