New Salisbury fire station taking shape on Cedar Springs Road
Published 12:10 am Saturday, August 8, 2020
Salisbury Fire Station No. 6 located on Cedar Springs Road is nearing completion. Architect Bill Burgin talks about elements of the station on a Thursday tour. Shavonne Potts/Salisbury Post
Salisbury Fire Station No. 6 located on Cedar Springs Road is nearing completion. Shavonne Potts/Salisbury Post
Salisbury City Manager Lane Bailey, left, and Salisbury Fire Division Chief Jay Baker during a tour of fire station No. 6 on Cedar Springs Road. Shavonne Potts/Salisbury Post
Salisbury Fire Chief Bob Parnell talks about elements of the five-story training tower inside station No. 6. Shavonne Potts/Salisbury Post
Salisbury Fire Station No. 6 located on Cedar Springs Road is nearing completion. The station includes a five-story indoor training tower. Shavonne Potts/Salisbury Post
Salisbury Fire Station No. 6 located on Cedar Springs Road is nearing completion. Shavonne Potts/Salisbury Post
By Shavonne Potts
shavonne.potts@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — Final construction finishings are being made to Salisbury Fire Station No. 6, named in memory of fallen firefighters Vic Isler and Justin Monroe.
The station, located at 310 Cedar Springs Road, will be staffed 24 hours per day. It will also be a site used for training and as an additional emergency operations command center. The project is a couple of years in the making and is expected to be completed by September.
“We just got permanent power, which will allow them to turn on mechanical units to condition the interior so they can now get the final finishes on,” said Bill Burgin, of Ramsay Burgin Smith Architects, which has overseen the construction and design of the project.
Greensboro-based Holden Building Company is handling construction of the 21,000-square-foot building. Burgin said the facility will need a final coat of paint before the rest of the ceiling, and then crews will be able to hang doors and put hardware in place. There will be kitchen cabinets installed, bi-fold bay doors, roll-up doors, epoxy floors, concrete skirts, fencing and lighting. It won’t be long, he said, before the building starts to look finished.
Weather was a big delay for the project.
“We’ve had one of the wettest winters that I can remember,” Burgin said.
There have been some pandemic-related delays, too. But because construction projects were considered essential, crews during the pandemic the construction hasn’t been significantly behind.
“We are erring on good quality and not on speed. This is going to be here 100 years. I don’t want us to gain a week and end up with issues, so we’re kind of erring on getting the quality we need,” Burgin said.
Sustainability, multi-use
Included in the building’s plans, Burgin said, have been sustainable elements that include low-volume plumbing fixtures, heavy insulation, radiant floor heating in the bay area and LED light fixtures.
Fire Chief Bob Parnell said the building will be a site to train new firefighters and could also be used as a space for training law enforcement through the use of a five-story tower. The tower will include features that simulate an apartment complex balcony; there are stairwells and other confined spaces.
The training space is indoors and can also tolerate hose training and rappeling. The facility will also accommodate training that prepares firefighters to rescue victims from a hole, drain or other tight space.
The building is designed to withstand an earthquake and outfitted with a generator so that firefighters can remain operational.
City Manager Lane Bailey said it’s important to note this station will help with fire response in the southern limits of Salisbury. The station is situated between Airport Road and U.S. 29/South Main Street. The hazmat operations currently at Station No. 4 will be housed at the new Station No. 6.
“I think the community will be very proud to have this and will serve them for a long time,” Bailey said.
The fire station will include a memorial wall to pay tribute Isler and Monroe, who died in 2008 while battling a mill fire. The memorial wall will be located in the lobby of the station.
“This is a dedicated facility to the firemen that we lost,” Burgin said.
Parnell said there was a lot of input from firefighters about the needs of the station, including a stadium-style seating classroom for those firefighters attending “rookie school.” New firefighters will continue to receive instruction at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College but could have some class at the new station.
“We are very proud of this facility,” Bailey said. “I appreciate the city council who approved this.”
