80 | Station with all the bells and whistles The new Taihape fire station includes a double appliance bay with front out, reverse in vehicle movement and a fully accessible meeting/ training room for brigade and community activities; W & W Construction T Karen Phelps BUILDING Taihape has a new fire station for its volunteer fire brigade. Completed in May volunteers are already working from the brand new fit-for-purpose building in Kuku Street. Built by W & W Construction 2010 Ltd based out of Whanganui, work started on site a year ago in May 2021 with the brigade working from a temporary site across the road. W & W Construction 2010 Ltd site manager Phillip Dempsey says the project progressed smoothly apart from issues that arose due to the fact of building during a worldwide pandemic. The team had just started on site in May last year when they had to pack up and return home due to a lockdown. This saw the project delayed but the team worked hard to get things back on track when they were allowed back on site, says Phillip. Materials were pre-ordered far in advance and stored on site in a 20-foot container. One of the largest materials – a 34-metre long run iron roof was made the long journey by road from Auckland to the site. Phillip says the key to the success of the job was strict programming to ensure correct timings for items like this to arrive to site when needed. The old fire station was demolished before the project could commence. Starting the project during winter months meant earthworks proved challenging and the team had to wait for ground to unfreeze daily to really get stuck in. The Building Code defines the significance of a building by its importance level (IL), which is related to the consequences of failure. There are five levels of importance, considered by the importance of the building to society, and the Taihape Fire Station was classed as an IL4 building that must be operational immediately after an earthquake or other disastrous event. This meant a higher specification of structural elements than normal, says Phillip. Funding for the build came from the Government’s Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund. The new station reflects the requirements of the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Fire “It’s turned out really nice and is a bonus for Taihape.” Station Guidelines in consultation with local operational personnel and other stakeholders. The new fire station includes a double appliance bay with front out, reverse in vehicle movement; a fully accessible meeting/training room for brigade and community activities; operational equipment storage room, drying room, decontamination washroom and general storage and cleaning areas; gender neutral transitional showers, laundry and PPE locker room; clean, accessible washroom facilities for public and brigade members; storage areas for the meeting/training areas and a locker bay for up to 30 volunteer fire members. The project also delivered new and upgraded communications systems and turnout, an office and watch room, new kitchen/canteen and appliance wash and recommissioning facilities with appropriate interceptor traps for treatment of run off. There is a yard for off street staff car parking and training, new asphalt pavement and driveway existing to Kuku Street, outdoor area, parking bays, drying rail, hose racks and workshop bench. A tightknit W & W Construction 2010 Ltd team of around 25, including subcontractors, worked on the project and Phillip says that it was a privilege for the team to work on the fire station and everyone is proud of the result. “It’s turned out really nice and is a bonus for Taihape.” W&WConstruction are proud to have been themain contractor for the newTaihape Fire Station Whanganui’s leading construction company.
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