New fire station to open soon

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Alexandra Sandoval
  • 2d Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Barksdale's newest fire station, residing on the East Side, opens for occupancy by the end of this year. 

The site of the fire station was originally part of Capehart Military Housing. Fourteen units were demolished to allow development and construction of the fire station and the accompanying 200,000 gallon-water tower, both of which will service new housing.
Construction of the $1.6 million state-of-the art facility began June 6, 2008, which allowed for the fire station to be finished on schedule in the fourth week of May. 
Since the previous two stations were located on Main Base and near the East Side, this station will better serve the tenants on Barksdale. 

According to Buck Sheward, Barksdale AFB Housing Privatization, construction manager, the fire station was added to the Military Housing Privatization request for proposal due to a previous history of response time for on base firefighters from the main base location to the Capehart Community on the east side. 

"Nothing is more important than time when responding to emergencies," said Tim Sprague, 2d Civil Engineering Squadron assistant fire chief. "The sooner we get to the incident, the faster we can intervene, the better the chances for a successful outcome."
Not only will the firefighters have a faster primary response times to the East Side, but they will also have faster primary responses to Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Navy SeaBees and forestry. Additionally, it will reduce their secondary response times to the munitions storage area and conventional storage area. 

Currently, the station is awaiting finalization of some legal procedures, a new fire truck and manpower due to the fact the station is not privatized. 

A certificate of acceptance will be issued by construction oversight which will eventually transfer ownership of the fire station to the government. 

"For all intents and purposes, the building is given to the government through the private sector via the Military Housing Privatization program," said Mr. Sheward. "It is not tax payer's money providing the facility, rather the private sector financing." 

As part of the finalization, final tests are being accomplished and should be completed soon on the new fire truck which will add another truck to the Barksdale's Fire Department inventory. The manpower solution is being worked through the major command at the present time. 

The new fire station will house four to six firefighters in one shift plus a station captain.
As part of the new, the fire station has a dayroom equipped with a bit-screen television along with two new couches, a fully-furnished kitchen, workout room with, new weightlifting equipment and a testing room for the firefighters. 

The firefighters will begin moving-in once the certificate of acceptance is legalized.