The Project

The City of Bothell embarked on an ambitious journey to replace Fire Stations 42 and 45 while ensuring uninterrupted service to the community. How did they get there? Careful planning, innovative solutions, and effective collaboration. By working together, we successfully delivered the project efficiently, reduced costs, and most importantly, prioritized the health and safety of its firefighters and community.

 

The Process

The project was complex and involved many moving parts such as: finding adequate temporary facilities for the firefighters to continue operations, moving administrative staff to City Hall, and maintaining an emergency services radio tower without interrupting services during the construction process. This influenced the City to treat the replacement of both fire stations as a single comprehensive program. By adopting a progressive design-build approach, the City and team could leverage efficiencies, mitigate cost escalation, and compress the project schedule by over 6 months. Constructing both stations concurrently allowed for streamlined procurement and utilization of shared resources, resulting in significant cost savings.

We certainly faced barriers along the way. The implementation of temporary facilities presented a challenge to maintaining uninterrupted operations and minimizing impacts to emergency response times. We collaborated with the City and fire department stakeholders to identify and secure suitable locations for temporary stations.

Transparency and trust between the owner and design-builder were instrumental in cost and schedule management. The project prioritized safety from the start and fostered a collaborative safety culture among all stakeholders. Regular site visits, safety walks, and open communication ensured the proactive identification and mitigation of potential risks. We approached risk management by implementing a comprehensive risk register and contingency plan throughout the project lifecycle. The outcome? The project was completed under budget, allowing for the addition of a much-desired additional training tower at Station 42.

“The new stations are state-of-the-art community gathering places that offer safer housing for our firefighters and an exceptional place for the greater Bothell community to meet. Collaboration and communication between all the working parties was key to a successful build, especially during the peak of the pandemic when supply lines and staffing were limited. The partnerships formed during these builds were key in creating fire stations that will stand the test of time.” – Butch Noble, Deputy Chief Fire Marshal | City of Bothell

 

The Reward

The biggest reward was witnessing the crucial role these stations would play within their surrounding communities. To celebrate its opening, we gathered with City leaders, project partners, and the Bothell community for the stations’ ribbon-cutting ceremonies. The celebration included firefighter-led tours of the new station, live demonstrations, fire safety giveaway bags for children, and an inside look at the trucks and rigs. The community involvement was incredible and made us even more proud to say we worked on the team to make this happen.

The project’s recognition expands outside of our teams. We’re excited to share that it’s become a 2x award-winning project!

ACEC Engineering Excellence Best in State
Station 45 was honored with the ACEC Engineering Excellence Best in State Silver Award in the “Future Value to the Engineering Profession” category. The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Engineering Excellence competition recognizes engineering achievements of exceptional merit and ingenuity through an annual design competition. For over thirty years, ACEC Washington member firms have participated in the state-level competition, with finalists advancing to compete globally.

Pacific Northwest CMAA 2023 Project Achievement Award
The City of Bothell’s Bond Program to replace Fire Stations 42 and 45 won the Pacific Northwest CMAA’s 2023 Project Achievement Award under the Vertical/Government market sector. Construction Management Association of America’s (CMAA) Project Achievement Award is an annual recognition program that honors outstanding projects in the construction and program management industry. It aims to highlight the best projects that demonstrate excellence, innovation, and serve as industry examples. Winning an award is a testament to the level of service provided by the participating firms.

A huge shoutout and thank you to our partners – BNBuilders, The Miller Hull Partnership, and the City of Bothell – for working together to make Bothell a safer place for our firefighters and community. Learn more about the project and how it’s creating healthier, better living: https://oacsvcs.com/project/canyon-park-downtown-bothell-fire-stations/?s=bothell