Fire Station 11 breaks ground on property adjacent to Charleston 9 Memorial site
In a city steeped in history, there are few places that hold as much reverence as the site of the former Sofa Super Store along Savannah Highway in West Ashley. It was there more than 11 years ago where nine firefighters lost their live in what was at the time the deadliest firefighter disaster in the country since Sept. 11. Now a memorial for the nine firefighters is on the site
On Friday, Aug. 24 local firefighters, the mayor, city and county council members, and several members from the general public gathered at the site to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new state-of-the-art City of Charleston Fire Station 11, which will be built on the adjacent property at 1835 Savannah Hwy. The location for the new station was selected to improve service delivery in West Ashley and will house Engine 11 and the 15 firefighters assigned to that company. When completed, the 14,500-square-foot building will include a command-training center, three bay apparatus area, living quarters, and department offices.
Representatives from Liollio Architects, Forsberg Engineering, and Stantec guided the design process in coordination with the city’s Parks Department. NMB Construction Company has been contracted to construct the building, which is estimated to take roughly a year and a half pending weather delays. The cost of construction, including demolition of the existing building, placing electrical wires underground and construction of the new facility, is expected to be approximately $6.5 million.
“The design process embraces our firm’s core values of context, culture, and collaboration, with context being the most challenging considering the project’s proximity to the Charleston 9 Memorial site,” said Dinos Liollio of Liollio Architecture, which designed the building. “This is why the collaboration with the community was so important. And having served on the Charleston 9 Commission, we wanted to be sure the design was embraced by the families of the fallen victims.”
According to Liollio, it was important to strike a balance between the functional service of the fire station and reverence to the neighboring memorial site. “The truck bays were purposely placed adjacent to the Memorial Site as a visual bridge, allowing the nine windows to pay a quiet reverence to the fallen firefighters while presenting a transparency to the building,” he said. “The masonry and associated corbelling of the brick are sturdy and strong, representing honor, commitment and sacrifice of all of Charleston’s finest.”
Liollio says the entire design process was a collaborative exercise with the City’s Fire Department, Capital Projects Division, Mayor Tecklenburg, councilmembers, and the community as a whole. “Mayor Tecklenburg took a high personal interest through-out all design reviews, especially in the design of the large arches at the truck bays,” said Liollio. “In the end, the design was influenced by so many, basically a design signature shared by our entire community.”
“The new Fire Station 11 demonstrates the city’s commitment to improving service delivery to residents of West Ashley, provides a tremendous improvement for our Fire Department team and, most importantly, represents another step forward in our desire to continue to enhance the Charleston 9 Memorial Park. The design team has done a remarkable job ensuring that this station will complement the park while providing a lasting tribute to the sacrifices made by the members of this department,” said Charleston Fire Chief Daniel Curia.
“It’s a sacred place for our city,” said Mayor Tecklenburg, who praised the design of the fire station, which took about two years to complete, as “an incredible, superior design.” Finalized through a public engagement process that involved several opportunities for community feedback, it features nine vertical windows in the apparatus bay overlooking the Charleston 9 memorial site. “It’s an homage to them, but it’s also an expression of hope for this city and this department,” said Tecklenburg, who also boasted that the entire block would have buried power lines and would serve as an example of how it can be done throughout the city.
More than steel and mortar, Chief Curia said a fire station is a symbol that embodies the concept of community. “It’s a gathering place, but it’s also a symbol of hope,” he said. “We must never forget the sacrifices that were made by those who came before us and let that symbol point to a brighter future.”
