By Robin Foster
The Houston Chronicle
BELLAIRE, Texas — Bellaire Mayor Cindy Siegel summed up the city’s new fire station Saturday as a gift from its residents to firefighters.
“It’s well-done, and well-deserved, and the firemen are just as excited about it as the citizens,” Siegel said as she joined scores of residents, young and old, to tour the completed facility for the first time.
“We’re very happy with the new station,” Fire Chief Darryl Anderson confirmed.
The department moved “unceremoniously” into the facility in November, Anderson said. The layout resembles the temporary quarters that housed the department well for the past year, but firefighters, including the city’s long-serving command staff and volunteers, are still settling in and getting used to it.
The poles are gone, and firefighters now descend from living quarters upstairs via a flight of stairs when the alarm sounds. They’ve got three minutes to get out of the station before the automatic bay doors start to close. Only once has a shift has been “clipped” on the way out, the chief said.
Saturday’s public opening became a catalyst to put in place some of the finishing touches that illustrate the long-standing relationship built between this city’s firefighters and its residents over nearly 80 years, such as the lettering that adorned the old station, Fire Prevention Week posters dating back to the 1980s, a donated painting of a fire scene and a hand-made quilted wall-hanging that commemorates 9-11.
City leaders began planning for the new station in 2004, beginning with a facilities assessment that targeted the old station for replacement. Among early planners who attended the opening were former City Council members John Monday and Pat McLaughlan. State Rep. Sarah Davis presented Chief Anderson with a flag that had flown over the state Capitol.
City Manager Bernie Satterwhite said the $4.88 million project “came in on time and on budget,” which he credited to Pierce, Goodwin, Alexander and Linville Architects, which designed it, and Gilbane Building Co., the contractor, as well as city staff.
In the city’s new emergency operations center, a well-equipped room that Siegel hopes she won’t have to use during her final term, residents got to view mementos from a time capsule buried in the wall of the old 1955 station. Among the items were 1936 aerial photos of the area, a ribbon from the opening of the station’s 1983 addition, newspapers and correspondence about local controversies.
The department is planning to store the time capsule, with additions from today, in the attic above the new station’s central tower, said Assistant Chief Alton Moses.
In addition to the EOC, the first floor includes offices for Anderson and Moses, a communications center and the six-vehicle bay and storage space. This station is equipped with an extractor, which allows the department to clean its own gear after each fire call instead of sending it out, and a “dark” room to store fire-retardant gear, which is light-sensitive.
Upstairs, in the living quarters, firefighters have their own bedroom for each 48-hour shift, and two share a bathroom while on shift. The switch from dorm-style housing means the department can accommodate men and women firefighters. It has one woman on staff already.
The kitchen and dining room are open and spacious, much like a modern home. The space includes a living area, computer stations and opens to an outdoor balcony and a small home theater. Also upstairs are two workout rooms for use by both fire and police departments and other city staff.
Televisions are located throughout, most donated by the 10-member volunteer staff and a grant from Sam’s Clubs, the chief said.
“I think it’s very nice the way they’ve changed it,” said Shafer Bersin, 10, who lives down the street and was well-acquainted with the old station.
During the opening, which included a “hose-cutting,” Satterwhite reminded residents that the station truly is a home for the city’s firefighters.
“They don’t just come to work here. They live here, 48 hours at a time. They’re at home here, and when they’re not here, they’re not very far away,” Satterwhite said.
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