14 | Christchurch Central Fire Station DEVELOPMENT Station a huge milestone for Chch Kim Newth This is the last of seven career/composite fire stations to be completed as part of a $78m FENZ redevelopment of stations in greater Christchurch following the 2010-11 Canterbury earthquakes. Christchurch is only weeks away from having a new fit for purpose central city fire station on Kilmore Street now that construction of the new station has reached its final phase. This is the last of seven career/composite fire stations to be completed as part of a $78 million Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) redevelopment of stations in greater Christchurch following the 2010-11 Canterbury earthquakes. The 1960s fire station that used to stand on the Kilmore St site once served as the main hub station for Christchurch City, with specialised appliances operating from it. After the quakes, the building was partially closed off with firefighters’ sleeping quarters relocated to temporary portacom accommodation at the station’s rear. The appliance bay continued to be used until just before the old station started to be demolished in October 2019. Over the past two years, the station’s four fire appliances and operational crews have been working out of other stations and a temporary facility on Lichfield St. “This is the last career/composite rebuild in the Christchurch network upgrade and its completion will be a huge milestone for Christchurch city, the staff that work out of our fire stations and for Fire and Emergency New Zealand,” says Stephen Hill, Fire and Emergency’s project manager. “Our staff have been through an awful lot since the 2010-11 Canterbury earthquakes, so we’re really looking forward to having this modern new station completed this coming autumn.” Cook Brothers Construction, which has built a string of new fire stations in Christchurch over recent years, won the tender for the new Christchurch City Fire Station and started work on site in August 2020. At 1749sqm, the two-storey fire station with resource garage is double the size of a standard career two bay fire station and has been purpose designed as a Level 4 (IL4) building, (which means it must be usable post disaster). It includes four appliance bays with operational equipment decontamination wash and storage areas, along with decontamination showers and PPE lockers for firefighters. As well, the new station complex has 12 single bedrooms and living areas (ablutions, gym, kitchen and lounge), plus an operations room, training and meeting rooms, a secure yard, a training tower, a fall-back generator, potable water storage and solar water heating. “As well, we thought about sustainability in this new station and tried to salvage as much as we could from the old station. All the concrete from the old building was crushed and used in the foundation raft under the new building. All the structural steel and reinforcing was recycled. We’re reusing some of the old bricks and have kept the old station plaque as remembrance in the new station.” The former station building had wooden fire poles stretching from the bedroom block above to the fire engines below. “We’ve even incorporated those in a couple of places as a feature in the new station.” Old station appliance bay doors were saved and donated to the Hall of Flame Museum at Ferrymead Heritage Park. Fire stations across greater Christchurch were devastated in the 2010-11 earthquakes, but Fire and Emergency New Zealand’s comprehensive redevelopment programme has now largely delivered what it set out to achieve – namely, rebuilding a modern network of strategically positioned stations to meet anticipated future needs of the city’s people. Volunteer brigades have not been overlooked in the programme. Rangiora, Lyttelton and Spencerville’s stations have been completed, Sumner’s new fire station is currently under construction, and a new station for Kaiapoi is also underway. “Once Kaiapoi is finished, that will be the last of the greater Christchurch stations in this programme of work.” New stations opened in the past year include the two-bay Ilam Fire Station, along with the Ilam Fire Engineering Facility that is conducting research in collaboration with the University of Canterbury; and the new Spencerville Fire Station bringing together the former Bottle Lake Rural Fire Force and the former Brookland Volunteer Fire Brigade. In July 2020, the Government announced a $51 million boost for much needed fire station rebuilds and upgrades throughout the country. Canterbury was awarded $23.8 million, including $12m to go towards the new Christchurch City Fire Station and $3m for the rebuild of Sumner Fire Station, which was heavily damaged in the earthquakes. Further afield, around $5m was allocated for a new purpose-built fire station for Kaikōura. Phone: 03 983 5500 waterfordpress.co.nz Your Business, Your Industry, Your News. DO OUR READERS KNOW YOU EXIST? APG Architects is a 100% locally owned practice dedicated to design excellence. With experience across New Zealand and the South Pacific. Our award-winning team offers a wide range of creative skills and technical resources including: • NZIA, RAIA & RIBA Registered Architects • Qualified Technical staff • Fully accredited NZIA Practice • Interior Designers • Project Co-ordinators Proud to support Christchurch Central Fire Station apga rch i tects.com Dedicated to Design Excel lence info@canterburypipelines.co.nz www.canterburypipelines.co.nz 0800 868 625 or 021 283 3235 DRAIN UNBLOCKING DRAIN CLEANING CCTV INSPECTIONS OF SEWER & STORMWATER LINES FOR COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL FAULT LOCATION & MARKING INSPECTION POINT LOCATING
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