Outdated Fire and Police Stations: Should Local Governments Renovate or Replace?
Many currently used fire and police stations in the U.S. were built during the time when police officers and fire fighters only needed one bathroom – the Men’s room, decades before indoor air quality was studied, before energy-efficient mechanical systems reduced operational costs, and before high tech communications required greater power capacity and fail-safes. Additionally, as residences or businesses may have shifted from one part of town to another, or traffic configurations changed, some stations are geographically or logistically mismatched with the populations they serve.
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In a recent article on the FireChief.com website, Project Architect Dan Montgomery advises station commanders and government officials to first connect with a qualified building professional to help them do an analysis of the current facility, both from a program perspective and a physical structure perspective.
By having a third party that is experienced at doing space-needs analyses and facilities master plans, government officials, facility managers, and station commanders will gain a clear understanding of which route is best to take – renovation or replacement.
What is your opinion on local government’s role in renovating or replacing fire and police stations that are outdated? Give us your comments below and be sure to facebook like, retweet, and share this post.