COAR Design Group was retained by the Port of Long Beach for the design of a new Fireboat Station 15 Project. Working with the Port, the City of Long Beach Fire Department and Harbor Patrol, this LEED Gold facility accommodates both land side and water side fire response capabilities. The fireboat station is a replacement for an existing, undersized station, and was designed to accommodate 2 landside fire apparatus, as well as a new 108’ long fireboat for the City of Long Beach Fire Department. Key features of the facility include advanced communications technology, a workshop where crews can maintain and repair gear, a conference room, a data room, office space, modern living quarters for a six-member team, kitchen and dining room, fitness room, turnout storage and shop area, and appropriate decon and utility space to support the landside operations.

The boat bay, which reaches more than 52 feet above the water’s surface, shelters Vigilance, one of the Port’s state-of-the-art fireboats, from the elements when it is not in use. The covered dock’s equipment includes an overhead crane to perform machinery maintenance on the fireboat, as well as to load necessary firefighting materials and equipment; a deionizing system to remove sea salt deposits that can slow the vessel’s speed and corrode the hull; a dive locker; and its own maintenance and repair room.

In addition to providing additional space and amenities to serve the growing needs of the Fire Department, personnel and Port safety was paramount throughout the design process. Personnel now have division of clean and dirty zones within the station. The station floorplan was designed to reduce response times by centralizing the apparatus bay entrance, easily accessible from anywhere in the station and direct access to the adjacent Boat Bay.