[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish to unveil first Katrina-rebuilt fire station Tuesday

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish to unveil first Katrina-rebuilt fire station Tuesday
by The Times-Picayune 
Monday August 25, 2008, 2:29 PM
St. Bernard Parish officials will gather Tuesday to unveil the parish's
first rebuilt fire station.

The ribbon-cutting and open house begins at 8 a.m. at Fire Station No. 1,
1500 Aycock St., Arabi. 

Jim Stark of FEMA and Paul Rainwater, executive director of the Louisiana
Recovery Authority, will be on hand to mark the event with St. Bernard
Parish officials, including President Craig Taffaro and Fire Chief Thomas
Stone. 

"We need to show people we are back in our buildings and we need to put our
employees in stable working conditions," Stone said in a parish news release
Monday. 

Taffaro said the parish has more than 65 other public building projects
underway. 

Station No. 1, which was flooded to its second story during Hurricane
Katrina, is the first fire station to be rebuilt or fully rennovated. The
renovations, which cost $636,204, were designed by L7 Architects and were
constructed by Sherlock Construction Inc. 

The station also flooded during Hurricane Rita. 

The station has 12 firefighters assigned to it with four working each shift,
Stone said. Living quarters for firefighters will now be contained to the
second floor. The fire station has been operating out of a trailer during
the renovations. 

Construction continues at several other fire stations across the parish,
officials said.