Earlier this month, firefighters at Fire Station 28 in Hillman City moved into a brand new fire station, located at 5968 Rainier Avenue South. Fire Station 28 houses Engine 28, Ladder 12 and Medic 28 and is one of the busiest stations in the City. Ten firefighters live and work at Station 28, 24-hours a day, 365 days a year. Firefighters working at Station 28 went on nearly 6,000 emergency responses in 2008.
The new Station 28 is nearly double the size of the old station. Space is important, because over the years, fire engines and trucks have grown in size. The new apparatus bay is large enough to comfortably accommodate modern Seattle Fire Department engines and trucks.
The new station also has a drive through garage – so firefighters can drive through the back to park in the station and exit the station through the front, instead of backing into a tight space off of busy Rainier Avenue.
Additional space gives crews room to work on equipment, wash the engines and store their gear. The new station also has an area designated for decontamination – so firefighters can safely clean off toxic materials that cover their gear at fire and medical responses.
Improved comforts inside the living area of the station include individual bunkrooms, so firefighters can rest and decompress during busy shifts and an open watch office in the front – with room for the station library which is full of training materials.
This is the first neighborhood fire station completed as part of the Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy, passed by Seattle voters in 2003.
Meanwhile, Mayor Nickels recently broke ground for the new Fire Station 30 in the Mount Baker neighborhood. The current facility, built in 1949, does not meet current seismic code and is too small to accommodate modern equipment and firefighting operations.
Funded by the 2003 Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy program, the new station is one of eighteen active Fire Levy projects.
Replacing the old Fire Station 30 is an important step forward in bringing Seattle’s fire facilities into the 21st century. The Fire Levy investment is the biggest upgrade of fire facilities in 40 years.
The new, larger station will meet current seismic code – and provide the space necessary for modern equipment and operational requirements. The replacement station is designed to withstand an earthquake and allow firefighters to provide critical services to the community.
Fire Station 30, located at 2931 S. Mt. Baker Boulevard, houses Engine 30 and a reserve engine. In 2008, Engine 30 went on nearly 2,000 alarms.
The new station will nearly triple in size, expanding from 2,568 square feet to 8,328 square feet. Seattle architects Schacht Aslani designed the $7.9 million project. The construction contractor is Synergy Construction, Inc.
Sustainable features include a ground source heat pump and a highly efficient building envelope to contribute to energy savings. A bioswale will be incorporated into the landscape design to remove silt and pollution from surface run-off. The project is on target to achieve a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver rating.
In 2003, Seattle voters approved the Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy, which was designed with lessons learned from the Nisqually earthquake, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and the 1995 Kobe earthquake.
Fire Station 28 – located at 5968 Rainier Avenue South in Hillman City – is one of the busiest stations in the City. Photos/David Mullarkey Images
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Awesome! Judging by the number of sirens I hear on any given day, they’re a hard working crew. Good to see the new, better designed digs.
Why don’t they build another fire station in the Rainier Beach area to alleviate some of the load off Station 28?
Young C…they did. Station 33 services parts of Skyway and Rainier Beach.
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