Construction begins for fire stations

Construction on two fire stations in Santa Cruz County started the same day, Monday, Oct 26.

“What are the chances of that happening anywhere?” asked Louis Chaboya, Tubac Fire District Project Manager.

Rio Rico Fire District began work on its new firehouse, at the corner of Pendleton Drive and Ruby Road, while site preparations were started on a new Tubac station on Ruta Camaron.

It is the second fire station project for Tubac this year.

Work continues on Station 3 on Camino Josephina that broke ground in May.

The Tubac fire stations are funded by landowners’ taxes as part of a $15 million bond issue approved in November 2008. Fifty-eight percent of the voters in the district cast “yes” ballots for the bond package.

With a price tag of about $2.4 million (it was budgeted at $3 million), the Josephina station is about halfway done.

Tubac Station No. 4 on Ruta Camaron �“ about 400 yards from Pendleton �“ is estimated at about $2.1 million to build (It also was budgeted at $3 million).

A third facility will be Station No. 1 and will house a fire station, training facility and an administration building. The cost is estimated at about $4.2 million and construction is planned within three years just southwest of the Interstate 19 Chavez Siding intersection, Chaboya said.

The firehouse being built in Rio Rico will be designated Station 3, with an estimated price tag of $3.2 million, said Chief Mike Foster.

It will be the administrative headquarters for the district and feature a silver or possibly a gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. “This should save us hundreds of thousands of dollars over the lifetime of the building in energy costs,” Foster said.

Ultimately, Rio Rico Station 3 will enhance the emergency services that the Rio Rico Fire District has been providing the community for 33 years.

“In the last 12 months, the area (near Pendleton and Ruby) has had the highest volume call load and has the longest response time,” said Foster, referring to a survey for the International Organization for Standards (ISO)

He said Station 1 will remain as a working station and maintenance facility and Station 2 at 957 Calle Calabasas, will expand as a training facility, offering such features as extraction, training towers, and a live-burn unit, Foster said. “We’re trying to add additional training resources.

For community

“Station 3 will feature a community, or multipurpose room that will be available to the community when not in use by the fire district,” he said.

In Tubac, Station 1 on East Frontage Road, currently the main headquarters for the Tubac Fire District, also will be converted into a maintenance facility, Chaboya said.

“We envision one day a facility to service all surrounding fire districts instead of folks having to take equipment up to Tucson as we all do now,” he said.

The move has sparked some concern among property owners in the Tubac Village area who like the idea of having a firehouse in such close proximity.

Chaboya readily admits that those residences and businesses there will lose about 1 minute of response time.

But the placement of the new fire stations will improve response times to a wider area, he noted.

“The give-and-take with Station 1 going away is that we will be able to provide better coverage on both sides of the freeway,” Chaboya said. “If a call comes from across river and station one responds, staffing there will be hampered. With stations on the east side, we will have more responders available on the west side” during multiple calls.

Chaboya measured: The distance among the stations west of the Santa Cruz River is at or about five miles. “It should be comforting to know these stations are in close proximity,” he said.

Regarding the new construction, Chaboya said, “This is not a race by any stretch, but it is just curious they started on the same day. The Tubac station is 9,000 square feet, while the Rio Rico facility will be about 13,000 square feet.”

Lang Wyatt of Tucson is the contractor for the two Tubac stations, as well as the Rio Rio firehouse.

“They are employing as many local subcontractors as possible,” Chaboya said. “It’s hard to employ 100 percent subs due to certification and licensing requirements, but an effort was done to keep as many local contractors employed by Lang Wyatt as possible.”