- November 14, 2024
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You might think a building used to house firefighters would be as fire-safe as they come. Not if it was built in ’77: Palm Coast Fire Station 22 needs its smoke detectors replaced, among other things, and the city wants to spend $100,000 to bring the old building up to code and improve its living quarters.
Fire Station 22 — the city’s first government-owned building, transferred to the new city by ITT — doesn’t meet today’s code requirements, and has basic safety problems.
It needs an exhaust for the truck bays, and sensors on the bay doors. There should be a firewall between the bay and the living space, but isn’t. It doesn't meet ADA requirements. And it doesn’t meet wind safety standards passed after Hurricane Andrew struck Florida in 1992.
The current situation, Mayor Jon Netts said at a City Council workshop after a morning tour of the firehouse, is “unacceptable.”
“If this were a commercial building in Palm Coast, our fire safety inspectors would give it quite a negative check mark,” he said. “Based on what I saw this morning, if that building is going to stay on another year, these improvements are necessary.”
The station houses three city Fire Department staff members plus two county Emergency Services staff members. One city fire truck and one county ambulance are based there.
It’s a bit cramped, even for the equipment: The ’70s-era truck bays are too small for most modern fire trucks, so the city has to have trucks custom built to fit them.
Then there are the cosmetic issues. Though the city finally ripped out the old shag carpet, the kitchen is worn and needs updating. The hot water heater leaks. The lights could be upgraded to more energy-efficient LEDs.
Netts asked if the whole building will need to be replaced soon anyway.
Ideally, City Manager Jim Landon told the council, “you would tear this (station) down, and build a new fire station at this location,” or else on city-owned land on Colbert Lane.
Renovating the station is a Band-Aid, Landon said, but, “It would be a 10-to-15-year Band-Aid.”
"If you can get 10 years out of it, I suppose that makes sense," Netts said.
City officials will discuss the proposed upgrades with the county before making changes, Landon said.
