Prevent loss, serve others, protect & enhance the quality of life. This is the mission statement of the Vail Fire & Emergency Services. With an outdated and rundown facility, this mission statement was becoming harder and harder to achieve for the servicemen and women of East Vail Fire Station 1. With a population of just under 3 million when the original structure was built in 1981, Colorado wasn’t nearly as big of a tourist destination as it is now. Today the population is over 5.5 million, with more coming every day. Also adding to this is the number of tourists coming for ski season. In 2016 Vail Fire Station #1 finally got the renovation it needed, in an area that sees a population boom every winter.
Located just off of I-70 and about 5 minutes from Vail Resort is Vail Fire Station #1. In 2015 alone this station responded to 424 emergency calls, or 1.16 per day. Vail Fire Station #1 is located in such a crucial spot, as the majority of their calls come from accidents and incidents on the extremely busy I-70 highway. With such a busy station, the Town of Vail decided that it was time to give the fire fighters in the station something they can brag about.
In came MW GOLDEN CONSTRUCTORS along with Pierce Architects with a $3.3 million plan to renovate the pre-existing structure. This project consisted of the renovation of the original 6,032-sf Fire Station, while also adding 2,060-sf of usable space. A standby generator was also incorporated into the building. The building renovation had to be sequenced carefully to keep the firemen and their equipment active and housed appropriately throughout the project. All utilities were upgraded and a new storm water drainage system was installed.
The 8,092-sf mixed-use space included duty quarters, an apparatus bay for housing two fire trucks, clean room, work room, storage rooms, mechanical/boiler room, generator room, IT room, offices, conference room, gym, the addition of a new fire pole, two exterior trash enclosures, as well as two Employee Housing Units (EHUs.) A new driveway was also installed incorporating glycol snow melt, and new access and parking were added in the rear.
This renovation enables the fire fighters to better do the duties that the public expects from them while living by their mission statement; prevent loss, serve others, protect & enhance the quality of life.