Fireboat Station No. 35 On Course
Fireboat Station No. 35 has just under three months to go before it’s floated over to the San Francisco Embarcadero waterfront for final connections to its permanent location. It will be moored behind the historic existing fire station.
Currently in construction at Treasure Island, the project team has made significant strides working diligently through the pandemic and wildfires to ensure the project stays on track. MEPF in the building is ahead of schedule, and plumbing and electrical work within the structure bulkheads have started with a monitoring crew on site to ensure safe work in the confined space. The building’s exterior skin consists of an almost complete two-layer panel system, with glazing, curtain wall, and terracotta rainscreen. Structural steel, roofing, metal decking, and stairs were all installed and completed without a hitch.
Swinerton crews have been hard at work in the field, too. The self-perform concrete team meticulously coordinated the placement of Level 2 and the roof. They will be returning to place the metal stairs that is a fitting fire engine red colored concrete. Not to be outdone, the framing and drywall self-perform crew did a stellar job using only string lines for exterior and interior framing since lasers and levels could not be used on a float due to the motion of the tides.
The self-perform millwork and doors/frames/hardware, polished concrete, elevator, roll-up doors, exterior terracotta, fireman’s slide poles, and signage are all on track for completion on this unique fireboat station – the only one constructed on a float in North America. Swinerton’s joint venture partner, Power Engineering Construction Co., will soon begin the marine portion of the project, installing a new pier at the Embarcadero, followed by MEPF flexible connections from the pier along a ramp and to the float.
The new fireboat station will house three fire suppression boats, a dive boat, jet skis, and marine rescue craft to ensure immediate access to water rescue and emergency response services and equipment to serve the public out on the bay. The building also includes a command center, scuba and wet gear rooms, fire and marine equipment storage, ambulance dispatch, officer suites, firefighters’ dormitory and a deck off of the Level 2 kitchen and day room, from which the firefighters can admire the breathtaking views of San Francisco Bay.