With the recent completion of the Wellsburg Fire Station and ongoing HUNT work with fire department partners at East Pembroke and Apalachin, our architects and engineers remain deeply embedded in the complexity and challenges of intergovernmental coordination, the aspirational goals of fire departments, and ultimately the construction of facilities that actualize all those things.
In 2011, flooding caused by Tropical Storm Lee damaged much of downtown Wellsburg, including the fire station, and propelled Village and fire officials to begin a relocation and rebuilding process that has included cooperation from the following funders and agencies: the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), New York State (as embodied by Senator Schumer and Congressman Reed), New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), Chemung County, and New York State Troopers (cohabitants at the fire station).
Wellsburg Village Mayor Malcolm Cole and fire station officials spearheaded this multi-year effort, and it has resulted in what they now anticipate will be a two-phase project with the immediate yield being a $2.7M new station at Main Street. Noting the increased role that the fire station plays in the Village’s life, Mayor Coles hopes that additional funding and local fundraising efforts will quickly allow for Phase II construction of a banquet hall, kitchen, and meeting rooms. In the interim, the Front Street Fire House will be used for meetings. HUNT’s Tim Steed, Aaron Vergason, Chad Snowburg, and Casey Pendleton are amongst several HUNT staff members assisting at Wellsburg.
Meanwhile, at East Pembroke, Fire District Chairman Robert Yungleisch and his colleagues expect to bring their own multi-year fire station project to conclusion in October 2017. Faced with their own trauma -- a car crashed into their former station in 2012 causing extensive structural damage, the East Pembroke team withstood a complicated siting process and emerged with a five-bay station on Barrett Drive that includes more space for existing fire trucks, as well as rooms for hose drying, decontamination, and air packs. HUNT’s Ben Gustafson and Alex Wiedemer are helping bring the project to conclusion.
At Apalachin, the chairman of their Board of Fire Commissioners, Brian Rieber, is leading an effort to build a new, 10,153 square foot facility at their current Pennsylvania Avenue site. HUNT’s Casey Pendleton, Michael Saglibene, Matt Rowe, Nate Binns, and John Gleckner are assisting Brian and his Apalachin partners. The modernized, “mostly steel prefabricated building” will house state-of-the-art firefighting technologies and infrastructure. Demolition to recommissioning is expected to take about 10-11 months.