58 SPRING • 2011
www.carolinafirejournal.com
Carolina Fire Rescue EMS Journal
When to begin plans for your new station By Steve Baird and Eric Vannier Bobbitt Design Build, Inc. When do you begin plans for your new station? That’s like asking someone who is plan-
ning life when is the right time to go to school, have children and retire.You need to have an
understanding of the goal for each step, the timeframe from commitment to completion of
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the plan and how costs are going to impact decisions. However, the one constant is that something is going to change along the way and adjustments to the best made plans could be necessary. The key is remaining flexible enough in your early planning to absorb the challenges and turn them into positive aspects for your project. By following these first two steps, you will be better positioned for long term success on your project when challenges arise and we all know they will!
Step One: The Feasibility Study There are a number of issues to consider when determining the feasibility of a project: program requirements, equipment and system requirements, economic conditions, operational constraints, functional locations, financial resources and various code and ADA compliances. A feasibility study of the program requirements will typically provide the necessary information to determine the equipment and system requirements, which will then lead to real estate and financial requirements. If finances are in place and fixed, then program requirements can be outlined so that the greatest needs are addressed first with other needs being outlined in descending order of importance. There are two objectives with program requirements; land and improvements — of-
fice buildings, training stations or apparatus bays. How much land is required and will it function with the building? Having a set of building plans drawn without having both the program requirements and the land identified sounds proactive; however the approach may not work. A number of station sites are donated or gifted at discounts to fire and EMS stations with good intent. However, the land may not function with all the program requirements. Having a team member that gathers information specific to a particular site will assist greatly in the planning process for land use, zoning, functional use and civil engineering.Your team partner should be qualified to assist with both the design, as well as the construction of the new facility for the most efficient outcome. The program feasibility should next address the financial considerations. A budget analysis is important when working with a new project. Reviewing program elements through basic design information and providing a budget estimate will determine the scope of the project and costs that are anticipated. If costs outweigh the desired scope, then modifying the design may be the only way to get the project in budget.The two criteria to judge feasibility are cost required and the benefits those costs will provide. Accurately weighing the costs versus the proj-