Fire Station 9 hosts an open house Nov. 2, 2013, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

SEATTLE – The Seattle Fire Department and the Seattle Fire Fighters Union, Local 27, invite the community to visit the new Fire Station 9, located at 3829 Linden Ave. N. in the Fremont neighborhood, during an open house on Nov. 2, 2013, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“Here is a chance for the community to meet the firefighters and learn more about their lifesaving techniques,” says Fire Chief Gregory Dean. “The new Station 9 assists firefighters in serving the needs of the Fremont community.”

Fire Station 9 is one of 32 neighborhood fire stations being upgraded, renovated or replaced through the Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Program, which was approved by Seattle voters in 2003.

The new facility replaces the former station built on the same site in 1954, which itself was a replacement of the original facility constructed in 1901, with a second building added to act as a relay station for the citywide fire alarm system in 1921. To ensure continued fire and medic response to the neighborhood while the new station was under construction, the crew worked out of an interim facility located nearby.

“I encourage the public to come check out their new fire station,” says Mayor Mike McGinn. “Besides providing a state-of-the-art facility out of which firefighters will respond to emergencies in the Fremont area, the project team created an environmentally friendly new building that reflects the unique character of the surrounding neighborhood.”

As a nod to Fremont’s historic structures, such as the nearby B.F Day School, brick cladding was used to visually tie the facility to the surrounding neighborhood. However, the most eye-catching visual feature of the new station is Peter Reiquam’s sculpture, “Nine Lives,” which portrays a giant black cat about to leap from the top of the apparatus bay. The sculpture is inspired by the Eveready Battery icon, the adopted “mascot” of the station for several decades, and serves as a symbol to the community that their firefighters are “Ever Ready.”

Extensive glass was used in the apparatus bay to allow visual connection for the community and ample daylight in the space, as well as to provide a view through the building to the green belt to the west. The firefighter spaces now meet current standards including individual bunk rooms, a new kitchen (aka beanery), dayroom and physical training.

All spaces were designed with response-time and safety in mind, and the facility meets the latest building code and the stringent requirements of an “essential facility” in case of a seismic event.

Sustainability features in the project include: stormwater harvesting with water reused for irrigation, toilet flushing and truck washing (27 percent potable water use reduction); daylight and views in all occupied spaces, low-VOC materials and finishes, energy efficiency (22 percent reduction), native drought-tolerant plantings and pervious paving. The project is targeting LEED gold certification.

Fire Station 9 houses a crew of four firefighters to staff Engine 9. The station also hosts a stationary compressed air unit and an extra apparatus bay to house a truck to deliver air cylinders to other fire stations. Firefighters must use compressed air to survive the toxic atmosphere common at all fires and many other emergencies.

The $4 million Fire Station 9 project was developed by the city of Seattle’s Department of Finance and Administrative Services, designed by Mithun of Seattle, and built by Howard S. Wright Construction of Seattle. Construction began in August 2012 and was completed in September 2013.