Wilbraham MA – Construction is nearly complete and firefighters are expected to occupy the renovated Main Fire Station in Wilbraham 2 ½ months ahead of the original April, 2013 move in date. The renovation and addition project will bring the existing 1950’s station into compliance with current IAFC guidelines for emergency response facilities and increases its size from 3,600sf to 11,500sf.
The original station was in desperate need of more garage space for their trucks, ambulance and boat. There were barely inches to fit between the trucks and the garage door and not enough bays to house all the apparatus. The boat was kept off site at a substation and the ambulance parked in a temporary shelter. The modular trailers that were added to the original structure to house administration and living quarters were also very dated and too small for current needs.
After an extensive designer selection process, the Town of Wilbraham’s selection committee unanimously awarded the contract to Tecton Architects. The town was impressed by the firm’s extensive resume of public safety projects and by Jeff McElravy, its senior project manager, who is a nationally recognized specialist in public safety design and serves various departments across the country as a planning and design consultant. For this project, Tecton also enlisted the expertise of Pacheco Ross Architects of Voorheesville, N. Y. for its extensive knowledge of fire station design.
The team of engineers consists of Garcia Galuska DeSousa for mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP), JH Engineering for civil engineering and Johnson Structural. Western Builders of Granby is the general contractor.
The $2.8 million project presented no additional tax burden to town residents. The town had $1.8 million set aside for upgrades to the fire department. It also had plans to purchase a new pumper truck, estimated at a cost of $700,000. When the pumper truck was evaluated, the fire department determined that the vehicle still had five to seven years of service and that the money would be far better spent if added to the funds for the building upgrade. It was also determined that the new truck would not fit in the existing garage. Additional funds also became available from ambulance billings and surpluses in other areas.
During the construction process, Jeff worked closely with the Capital Planning Committee and Assistant Town Administrator as well as the Building Committee to assist in gaining town-wide approval for construction. As it turned out, the project bids were so favorable that the town was able to incorporate all of the alternate design options into the construction. The fire department has operated out of a secondary station in the center of town and the tank engine was stored at the East Longmeadow Fire Station temporarily during construction.
Lance Trevallion, building commissioner for the town of Wilbraham, acted also as project manager for the town on this project.
“It has been my pleasure to work with Jeff McElravy and Tecton Architects on the Wilbraham Fire Department’s Fire Station addition and renovation project…As the project manager for many of Wilbraham’s facilities projects, I have worked with numerous architects and engineers; ultimately, Mr. McElravy and his associates rank among the most exemplary and talented. Jeff McElravy and Tecton Architects…has my highest recommendation and regard.”