The Arlington City Council recently approved a design contract for up to $840,000 with Parkhill, Smith & Cooper, Inc., of Lubbock, Texas for a new Fire Station No. 8. Arlington voters approved funding to rebuild the fire station as part of the 2018 Bond Program.
The two-story, 10,000-square-foot facility will replace the existing 7,100-square-foot station which originally opened at 2020 Madison Drive in 1978 and went through a remodel in 2005. The station has three different shifts, who each spend 24 hours serving a 4.5 square-mile response district in North Arlington. This district includes the Arlington Commons area, Champions Park, Lincoln Square and AT&T Stadium.
In addition to the emergency medical and fire suppression mission, fire station No. 8 houses the Arlington Fire Department’s technical rescue team. The team has a specialized vehicle that carries technical rescue equipment. They specialize in technical rescues which include high angle rope rescue, trench rescue and building collapse. They also focus on heavy duty vehicle and machinery extractions.
“The goal for the future facility is to build a station that prioritizes firefighter health and wellness and is a landmark for the community it serves. It will also incorporate specialty training devices and apparatuses throughout the station to help Fire Station No. 8 fulfill their mission of being the technical rescue station,” Assistant Fire Chief Jonathan Ingols said.
The future facility will include three to four drive-through apparatus bays, dorm rooms for firefighters, a day room and kitchen. The new fire station will also incorporate cancer awareness best practices, including extractors to wash the firefighters bunker gear, a system to remove exhaust fumes. In addition, it will have a cascade system for filling breathing air cylinders.
After the design process, construction of Fire Station No. 8 won’t start until after Station No. 1 in Downtown Arlington is complete. The City of Arlington broke ground on Fire Station No. 1 in March.
Want to learn more about the projects approved by Arlington voters in the City’s bond elections? Check out the Bond Tracker webpage for maps, project timelines, articles, and more.
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Design Process to Start on Voter-Approved Two-Story Fire Station No. 8 in North Arlington
By Office of Communication
Posted on October 04, 2022, October 04, 2022
Original source can be found here.