Atkinson breaks ground for new fire station

Atkinson officials broke ground Oct. 18 for a new fire station. The $1.8 million fire station is expected to open in late 2011.

The new station will be located on Route 6 between State and School streets.

“The building will be at the gateway to the community,” said architect David Henebry of LZT Associates?Inc. who designed the building.

The Atkinson Fire District received a $1.3 million grant from the federal government for the new station and officials are working to raise the additional $500,000 needed.

When finished, the 11,600-square foot building will include eight apparatus bays, including two for ambulance service. The office area will have a communications room for dispatch and emergency communications. The building also will include four offices, a conference/meeting room and a kitchen.

According to information provided on the project, the conference/meeting room will be “divided by a folding partition to allow for flexibility in accommodating multiple meetings or a larger meeting and on-site training.”

The kitchen has been designed “for local fund-raising purposes and support for community functions.”

“Whenever a community builds a new building, it’s a fairly momentous occasion, and we want this to be something the community can take a lot of pride in,” said Henebry.

A geothermal ground source heat pump system will provide heating and cooling for the building, and nearly all of the materials scheduled to be used in the building “were selected based on recycled content and/or regional availability to reduce the energy required to produce the materials” said Henebry.