The City of St. Paul recognized its existing Fire Station No. 7 was unable to support the needs of the community and the greater St. Paul area. That, coupled with the rise in calls for service, made it clear that an additional battalion needed to be stationed in the area. The existing facility could not be expanded or renovated to meet this need, so our team was brought on to partner with the City of St. Paul to address this challenge. The city acquired nearby land with the intent of replacing the outdated station with a new, modern facility that can effectively house all staff and equipment needed to support this area.
The new station is approximately 18,500 square feet in size, featuring three double-deep dive-through apparatus bays and one single back-in garage space for a battalion vehicle. The facility includes 15 sleeping rooms (three officer suites and 12 regular), a full size commercial kitchen, lounge area and dining area with an adjacent outdoor patio. In addition to its functional aspects, the new station prioritizes the well-being of its firefighters, incorporating best practices for firefighter health and wellness like separated gear storage areas, decontamination showers and gear washing and maintenance spaces.
The City of St. Paul is committed to sustainable initiatives and has made it a requirement for all new facilities to comply with the State of Minnesota’s B3 (Buildings, Benchmarks and Beyond) Initiative. As such, the new fire station is designed to not only perform at an impressive 80% better than code for energy usage but also will support a fully electric fire engine that the City will acquire in two years.