JEMA FEATURED IN WEBSTER-KIRKWOOD TIMES

JEMA’s design for the new Webster Groves Fire Station No. 2 is featured in the Webster-Kirkwood Times. The new station is approximately 11,500 sq. ft. and 1 story. It will replace the existing fire station located at South Elm Avenue and East Rose Avenue.

Plans To Rebuild Webster Groves Fire House #2 Unveiled

by Mary Shapiro | July 13, 2018

The Webster Groves City Council will continue discussions at an upcoming work session about rebuilding Fire House No. 2 at 1302 S. Elm Ave.

During a presentation at the council’s July 10 work session, Fire Chief Tom Yohe and officials with JEMA, the design consultant for the project, estimated the total cost of the rebuild – including design, construction, furnishings, technology, professional services, contingencies, and more – at $5.3 million.

The current building, at South Elm and East Rose Avenue, dates from 1954, said JEMA partner Jon Emert.

Yohe said House 2 – which serves the part of the city south of Interstate 44 – was remodeled in 2001. Since then, the size of fire apparatus needed to be stored in the station has grown significantly.

“We’ve outgrown the amenities in that house, and it’s time we replace it with a modern facility,” he said.

Emert said other locations were considered for a new facility, but the current site is ideal from a response time standpoint.

He said a rebuilt station would, among other things, allow for improved functionality and increased size to meet current and future needs. It would create a more healthy environment for firefighters by separating living quarters from material and equipment space, comply with building codes and create an improved response time. An additional benefit would be adequate parking for staff and visitors.

The new building, with three bays instead of the current one, would allow for fire trucks to drive into the station from an entrance off East Rose and drive out on South Elm – rather than the current situation of having to back equipment into the station off South Elm, Emert said.

The property would encompass about 37,598-square feet, and the new one-story building, with as much as 18 feet height in the bays, would be about 11,300 square feet. The current building is about 4,200 square feet.