New Beulah Fire Station will Remain a Volunteer Station

Folks were concerned and I was approached.  Apparently there were rumors flying around that I supported changing the way the Beulah Fire station was going to be operated after the old facility was decommissioned and the new one opened.  

One individual with whom I spoke even told me the volunteers who run that station currently with the assistance of a full time day shift crew were given notice that the station would become all professionally staffed once the new facility is opened.   And that I supported that?!?

That was news to me--and nothing could be further from the truth.  

So I have subsequently spoken to multiple others affiliated with that station who have told me, unequivocally, that the current arrangement is working well; this is a combination station that is functioning properly with a day shift of career firefighters running calls during the day Monday thru Friday and the ample volunteer component running the evening and weekend calls.

"We haven't missed one call, not one" said a volunteer at the station with whom I spoke at an event this week in Beulah. "So why are they doing this to us--we don't miss calls?"  he asked me.

My response was straightforward:  "They're not going to do this."

Apparently there was going to be a move to make the station fully professional and manned 24/7 with carreer staff after the construction--but after speaking with several senior administrative staff members and voicing my extreme disapproval of such a plan---I have been told subsequently it will remain volunteer run after the changeover.  

That is a relief to hear--as in many respects this new station will be a great recruiting tool for volunteers, and Beulah has a rich history as a station that has typically had a robust volunteer roster.  I, along with many others, would like to see that continue forward after we cut the ribbon on the new station, which will be named in honor of two Volunteer Firefighters who served at the station.

So as of this writing, once the new Station 2, the Bradshaw McNair Fire Station, opens in Beulah in January----the staffing model will remain as it has been:  a combination station run by the volunteers with a day time staff of career firefighters.  I mean, why change something that is working so well?

I suggest we utilize the career staff that were slated to move into Station 2 in other areas of the county where perhaps there is greater need for coverage and where calls are missed.

Inside the Planning for Beulah's Brand New, State of the Art Firehouse

 

Exterior Elevations of the soon to be constructed Beulah Fire Station from the latest design drawings 

The work toward constructing a new, modern, state of the art fire house in Beulah is moving ahead.  According to staff, the 95% design drawings will be completed by the early April.

Meanwhile, I have requested and have now received the most recent drawings for this project that illustrate how the facility is being envisioned by the architect who is designing it.

Interestingly--this same design will be utilized at both of the new firehouses that are to be constructed in Escambia County over the next two years (one in Beulah, one in Pleasant Grove).  The rationale for using one common design and then "site-adapting" that same design to the location for construction is that it saves time, effort, and resources.  For the end user, it creates a uniform space with which to work.  Bottom Line:  It saves taxpayer money on design--and is a very smart way to go because we're building two stations and it creates an economy of scale.

Building highlights:

The currently envisioned floorplan of the soon to be constructed Beulah Fire house 

The highlights of the new facility include a size of 14,502 SF, four truck bays, with a high-bay size capable of accommodating the largest apparatus in ECFR.  Additional facility components include office spaces, 8 bunk rooms, four large bathrooms with showers, a day room, a large training room, and two EMS ready rooms.  In addition to this, the facility will have a large modern kitchen as well as large laundry and gear storage rooms.  The design of this new "prototypical" station was made with input from a committee that included planning, facilities and ECFR (paid and volunteer) personnel--with the aim of capturing all the necessary requirements for the crews that will man this station. 

Due to the irregular lot size in Beulah (a "flag-lot"--with a narrow strip on the southern boundary on 9-Mile Road and a wider width further in toward the northern boundary)-the initial plan is to build the facility set-back from the front, utilizing the narrow southern portion along with an ingress/egress easement for accessing 9-Mile Road.

The existing lot size and dimensions for the Beulah station will present a challenge.  But to overcome the conditions planners are designing access that conforms to the lot's dimensions, as illustrated above.  Additionally, I am told that when we get our 95% drawings in early April,  The retention pond may have to be more linear and nearer to the front of the lot-due to the fact that a wet pond may be required instead of the dry pond that had initially been envisioned for the site.  We will see what that looks like after the soils engineers do the calculations.

I'm excited to see the final plans, and I am very happy that the men and women volunteer firefighters in Beulah, along with the potential day-shift paid crew we are working to fund, will finally be getting a modern station with everything they need to continue to provide fire protection for our community!

Much more to come in the next several months!

Preliminary Planning for Additional, Paid Fire Service Personnel Coverage for Beulah's Station 2 is Underway

I have asked for a proposal on costs for adding additional personnel to Beulah's Station 2.  The preliminary plan would require $220,000 in new revenue to fund--which I am working a plan to do...

I've lived in Beulah for the last 17 years--and I've watched the residential housing growth out here explode.  It is part of the reason I ran for this job in 2016--to find creative ways to more intelligently plan for and manage the growth.  Meanwhile, lots of folks have made lots of money in real estate out here.  A MASSIVE up-zoning happened in 2015, farm property got turned into more subdivisions, and we've all seen our property values rise.  Creating wealth and value is great--but there are also consequences to explosive growth.

Yes-there are ramifications.  Or, as Newton put it aptly in 1687-- "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction"

We've seen the impacts on our traffic and our schools.  There are impacts to stormwater.  

There are impacts to the call load of Beulah's Volunteer fire station on 9-Mile road, as well.

With the BCC moving toward a compromise plan for our OLF-8 property that will more than likely add a lot more residential dwellings and large retail structures--which in turn will exacerbate our current traffic gridlock--we also have to be cognizant of our fire service coverage out here.

I have strongly supported the volunteers at Station 2 in Beulah since I have lived here--and I still do now, more than ever.  These men and women are excellent and they do a great job.   These volunteers will soon have a new, modern fire facility which is being designed right now, and for which the board has committed a total of $4 Million to build.

But because the growth at OLF-8 will push the capabilities of the stretched-thin Station 2 volunteers--I have had staff produce a plan for adding a three man, paid firefighter crew during the daytime hours at Beulah's station 2 (not dissimilar to what we do for the Century Fire Station in District 5--which also enjoys coverage from paid firefighters during the daytime hours).  IMPORTANTLY:  I am NOT advocating for the replacement of the volunteers at station 2; to the contrary--I am also, simultaneously working a plan to bolster and grow the roster of volunteers at Beulah.  That plan is already underway.  Bottom Line:  Station 2 will remain a volunteer station--albeit with daytime support from a 3-man paid firefighter crew to assist with coverage---if I can get funding and support for this from my counterparts on the board.

Meanwhile, all this growth that will necessitate additional coverage utilizing paid firemen from ECFR begs the question about funding.  According to the study I received back from Fire Admin late last week--it will cost about  $220,000.00 yearly in additional funding to add a paid three man team to Station 2 for the peak 45 hours weekly of call activity.  

I believe we may be able to fund the first two years of this additional, enhanced coverage for Beulah utilizing Federal Rescue Plan funding;  eventually, as OLF-8 gets developed, I support adding impact fees, a TIFF, or an enhanced MSBU (or some combination of these three) --ONLY on the developments permitted there (on OLF-8) in order to offset this additional $220,000 in costs thereby eliminating the need to raise the county-wide MSBU.   I do not and will not support raising the MSBU county-wide.

I intend to bring this topic and this plan to an upcoming meeting of the board.  Stay tuned.  Meanwhile- take a look at the initial, draft, and very preliminary estimate and plan below....

Modernizing Beulah's Fire Station: What's the Timeline, What's Being Designed into the Facility?

The project to modernize Beulah’s Fire Station is moving forward now, full speed ahead.

The Board of County Commissioners has purchased the property in Beulah where the station currently sits, and the county has put out a request for letters of interest (RLI) to engage a firm to design the improvements at this site.  The notice of RLI was published and the window of time for submissions from interested firms has now closed, as of this past Tuesday, May 5^th.

WHAT WAS IN THE REQUEST FOR LETTERS OF INTEREST—AND WHAT WILL THE REMODELED STATION HAVE IN TERMS OF FEATURES?

(From the solicitation)

“Escambia County is seeking an architectural and engineering [firm] for design services for two (2) Fire Stations, one (1) each in Beulah and Pleasant Grove. Each project is an approximately 10,000 square-foot fire station to be constructed at the County-owned site located at 6400 West Nine Mile Road, Pensacola, Florida 32526 and 9350 Gulf Beach Highway, Pensacola, Florida, 32507.

The projects will include reviewing the existing fire station structures and make recommendations for remodeling the existing facilities or new construction. The design will likely be similar for both facilities and adapted to each selected site. The work will include space programming, schematic design, design development, construction document preparation, bidding administration, and construction administration. The architect will prepare estimates and give the County an opinion of cost.

Each facility is estimated to be approximately 10,000 square feet and will include the following:

·         Beulah fire station / 4 drive thru truck bays

·         Pleasant Grove station / 3 drive thru bays     Both facilities shall include:

·         1 EMS bunkroom/ready room/office;

·         2 officer’s quarters with connecting bathrooms / office & bunkroom separated by wall;

·         8 bunkrooms/offices;

·         2 unisex bathrooms with shower;

·         1 unisex bathroom no shower;

·         1 day room to accommodate ten chairs/people;

·         1 kitchen with commercial appliances  (gas)  including four (4)  walk in pantries  with adequate space for refrigerators and shelves;

·         1 physical fitness room;

·         1 storage room;

·         1 janitorial supply closet;

·         1 decontamination/laundry room with room for ice machine;

·         1 enclosed bunker gear storage area to accommodate 30 full size PPE lockers;

·         Work bench and storage area;

·         1 large training room/community center room large enough to accommodate 25 people;

·         Secure lobby area for citizen/visitor entrance with limited access to rest of building;

·         Diesel exhaust system in truck bay;

·         Station alerting system; and

·         Consider bi-fold doors for truck bays”

WHAT IS THE TIMELINE FROM NOW TO AWARD OF THE DESIGN CONTRACT?

Yesterday Afternoon was a Big Day for ECFR Station 2

Significant fire facility upgrades are coming to Beulah---and this community, its citizens, and the firefighters that staff station 2 have waited too long for this to happen.   It's coming!

Aside from having two long meetings of the BCC yesterday, where multiple good projects were put forward and lots of good and decisive votes were taken, another issue was finally put to rest....

Almost 2 years ago, the Escambia Board of County Commissioners voted to purchase the property and improvements in Beulah that currently make up ECFR Station 2--owned by the Beulah Volunteer Fire Department.

The reason this took so long is due to the fact that lots of paperwork had to be gathered, some was missing, and multiple lawyers were involved and it just dragged on and on.  It dragged on much longer than it needed to.  But we finally got the deal done, and it was confirmed in an email late yesterday afternoon that the wire transfer of funds had occurred and the deal was formalized.

But that wasn't all the good news for Station 2 yesterday.  At yesterday evening's regular Board of County Commissioner's meeting we also funded multiple brand-new commercial washing mashine/extractors for multiple fire houses in our county--including station 2.  (This was desperately needed, as station 2's existing extractor is/was 25 years old and had been repaired multiple times and had obviously exceeded it's useful service life--in fact it even had paper-clips jury rigged inside the electronic panel a la McGuiver to make the machine spin.  The water wasn't draining properly and the water inside smelled horrible--and these are the machines the firemen count on to wash their protective gear)

So we funded this and later in the meeting I funded an item from my discretionary spending account not to exceed (NTE) $10,000.00  for Station 2 to purchase 8 new twin mattresses for their makeshift bunk room and for the purchase of a new commercial grade washing machine and dryer.  These items were desperately needed, so I did not want to wait another minute to fund these necessary items.

SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT AT STATION 2?

Now that the county owns this property and improvements, the next steps will include funding a Design Firm to come out to the station, assess the improvements and property and in coordination with the firemen and facilities staff ascertain the requirements going forward for the station to serve the growing Beulah area.  Once the Design firm takes this information-they will be tasked with bringing forth a plan to modernize/renovate the existing facility and add on as necessary to meet the requirements specified.

I have allocated $1 Million from my discretionary local option sales tax (LOST) fund, and there is $1.5 Million in LOST III earmarked for Station 2's upgrade--for a total budget for this project of $2.5 Million Dollars.

This will fund larger bay doors which will accommodate a ladder truck, proper kitchen, bathroom, bunkhouse, and meeting facilities, and an overall modernization of this dated facility.

Beulah is a growing area and Beulah's firefighters and residents deserve the best fire facility and equipment we can get them.

It's coming!

What is the True Story of What is Going to Happen at the Beulah Fire Station?

Some folks on Facebook had speculated on what is going on with Escambia County's Station 2 in Beulah, and unfortunately their speculation was not on point.  So I corrected the record there, and I am going to do likewise here.

First--the BCC voted more than a year ago to purchase the BVFD property upon which Station 2 sits.

For the last year + we have worked to get all the documentation necessary for the title company to be able to close the sale.  It has been a long process, and it is not yet completed.  It is my understanding that now we are on the cusp of getting this transaction finalized.  First American Title is handling this transaction and beginning this week the County Attorney's Office will be calling daily to check progress.  Daily.

Meanwhile--folks are wondering what the modernization of Station 2 will look like.  Here is what I say to that question and also to the question of who it is that will staff that station.  Again, I want to be clear and I want to be on record as the Commissioner from that district and a 15-year resident of Beulah---from facebook:


"The volunteer firefighters from station 2 have worked very hard with their attorney to help us get the deal closed over the last year. It has been a long and circuitous process. The BCC voted to buy the station over one year ago---and so that part is a done deal--and it has been for quite some time. As is the funding of $2.5 Million to modernize that facility. As of my conversation this past week 
with our County Atttorney--the title company is now officially the pinch-point and I have requested our RE attorney, Steve West, to make DAILY calls until we close the deal. Then we will engage an A&E firm to design what will happen next on that property. It will be modernized, there will be showers and bunks and a proper kitchen and meeting space for the personnel, and most importantly ------ This station will remain a volunteer station, with the Beulah Volunteer Fire Department transitioning from owning the property to being a tenant on what will be our newest county property. But volunteers will continue to run that station. And I will not support ANY moves to bring in paid staff to this facility so long as the volunteers continue to do an excellent job and unless they, the volunteers, request day shift coverage or enhanced coverage utilizing paid fire personnel. I support all firefighters and I have tremendous respect and admiration for volunteer firefighters in particular.  So, that is where this stands."

As it pertains to what the $2.5 Million will do:

"We have a $2.5 million budget. my plan is to engage an A&E firm to tell us what we can do with that utilizing the property and what’s currently on the property and that money in order to have a modernized facility. that’s what it means to me unless we have additional funds—which I’ll be looking for as well"

What Will it Take?

The Beulah Volunteer Firefighters are looking for folks to join them and become volunteer firefighters.  Here is what the firefighters from Station 2 want the community to know:

"NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED, we will train you!

Beulah VFD is looking to fill several positions including FIREFIGHTER, MEDICAL FIRST-RESPONDER (ie. EMR, EMT, Paramedic, Nurse, Corpsmen, etc…), DRIVERS, and several support rolls! Including:  Jr. Firefighter (ages 14-18) PHOTOGRAPHER / VIDEOGRAPHER, and Office help.

Shoot us a message and let us know you’re interested and we’ll get you all of the needed info!

Lt Ian Forester 850-377-5412

FF Reed Moss 706-970-0111

FF Dalton Young 850-512-9626"

Beulah Volunteers from Station 2 Save the Day!

Last Thursday was stormy in the Pensacola area...Heavy storms, thunder, and lightning.

One unlucky homeowner in the Nature Trail Subdivision in Beulah absorbed a direct lightning strike on their dwelling at about 4:00 PM that day.

And it caused a fire in the attic.

The residents of the home were actually away at the time, travelling about 150 miles from home at the time of the fire.  I'm told an alert resident saw the smoke rising from the neighbor's house and called 911.

Members of the Escambia County Fire Rescue Department, Station 2 (Beulah Volunteers) were in the field on a call at the time this house fire call came in. 

They immediately diverted to Nature trail. 

By 4:07 PM, according to official records of the incident, the Tanker and the Engine from station 2 arrived on scene and began an "aggressive" fight to save the house and as much of the residence's contents as possible.

At 4:12, Squad 3 from Brent arrived on scene as well to assist Station 2.

At 4:17 Engine 1 from Bellview arrived to assist.

In addition to these resources--three battalion Chiefs and the acting Fire Chief himself arrived on the fire scene.  It was a total team effort, led by the Beulah Volunteers who arrived first on the scene.

According to one high ranking official with whom I spoke--the effort ECFR put into saving this home was fantastic.  "It was an A+" this person told me.

Thanks to all of ECFR for their work on this and all the other emergencies they respond to--and a huge "Job Well Done!" goes out to the volunteers at Station 2 for getting it done once again for the residents of Beulah!  Way to Go!