PUBLIC SAFETY: Sarasota, Florida
“We are very proud of this building. It is another example of excellent architecture produced by local architects. The City of Sarasota is renowned for its architecture and Sweet Sparkman Architects has given us another landmark.”
Kelly Kirschner, former Mayor, City of Sarasota
Sarasota County Fire Station No. 1 is a new 12,894 SF fire station with administrative offices and training facilities. Site Improvements include public vehicle and staff parking areas and the addition of a new fuel filling site. The station houses four drive-through apparatus bays with living quarters capable of serving 14 firefighters/EMS personnel. Other interior spaces include a kitchen, exercise room, day room, dining area, screened porch and report writing area. A multi-purpose room is programmed to serve as a training room for EMS personnel. This room is also available for public use.
The construction of the fire station includes masonry bearing walls and metal trusses. Exterior detailing of the facility complements the Florida Vernacular imagery and includes extruded aluminum cistern barrels that gather rainwater for re-use.
The fire station obtained a Silver LEED award. The Silver LEED standard was met by implementing the following systems: Cisterns harvest rainwater from the roofs to reuse for irrigation, truck filling and washing down the apparatus bay floors; daylight is harvested with the use of solar tubes to illuminate the interior corridors during the day; the metal roofing is a high albedo roof to reflect the sun so as not to create excessive heat; all landscaping is drought tolerant, native vegetation; irrigation is from harvested rainwater with a potable water backup; tankless water heaters augmented by passive solar hot water tanks.
