Naples Fire Station No. 1 is a 22,600-SF, two-story station housing city-provided fire response, as well as county-provided EMS rescue response. The design included fire department administration, Station No. 1, EMS rescue response, emergency operations center managed by the fire department, three apparatus bays and associated apparatus support spaces, battalion chief office, bunk room, and locker room. General facility functions such as kitchen, dining, report writing, physical agility, dormitories, restrooms and showers, and equipment / utility support spaces were also included. The facility was designed to promote the “family unit” by creating an open shared space in the kitchen, dining, and dayroom.
After analyzing several sites, it was determined the best option would be to utilize the existing station site, as land in this area is at a premium. The site was in a predominantly residential neighborhood, but adjacent to city hall, providing access to other municipal services. During design, our team worked with the city to identify and plan for relocating operations into temporary, off-site structures close enough to maintain their ISO rating.
This building is considered a risk-category 4 essential facility, according to the Florida Building Code, and is capable of withstanding hurricane category 5 windspeeds. The building structure included a reinforced concrete slab on grade, elevated to the FEMA required 10-foot elevation for the first-floor level, reinforced masonry walls with stone veneer, structural steel joist framing and metal deck with rigid insulation, and a single-ply membrane roofing system. The glazing systems include low “E” glazing meeting level E missile impact in either an ICC – 500 tested curtainwall system or a tested storefront system. The EOC was designed and built to meet ICC 500 requirements. Systems include mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, security access control, audio / visual, alarm notification, and communications systems. This project was designed to LEED Silver standards and awarded the 2019 Station Design Silver Award.
Naples Fire Station No. 1 was recently subjected to hurricane winds, flooding, and surge from gulf waters due to Hurricane Ian on Wednesday, September 28, 2022. The station is located in the AE flood zone, neighboring the City Hall. Based on ISO ratings, it is required to be in this area to serve the surrounding community. As the surrounding streets and parking areas are approximately 3-feet above sea level, this station was designed for wet floodproofing in the apparatus bays and entry lobby. To support this, flood vents were installed to allow water to flow though the enclosed area in order to equalize the water pressure and avoid any structural damage. Crew quarters, EOC, and administration spaces are elevated to ten feet above the existing street elevation of three feet above sea level and are fully enclosed, meeting Florida Building Code and FEMA requirements and standards. These areas remained watertight during the hurricane, as designed. The entire building is engineered and constructed to meet hurricane force winds and debris impacts associated with a category 5 hurricane.
