[StBernard] St. Bernard opens two new fire stations

[Westley Annis]

Grand Opening of Fire Stations No. 3 and No. 10 held Wednesday, April 22

Joyous celebrations of growth in St. Bernard Parish

 

St. Bernard Parish President Craig P. Taffaro Jr., along with other federal,
state and local officials, celebrated Recovery and Growth in St. Bernard
Parish with Grand Opening ceremonies at two rehabilitated fire stations on
Wednesday.

 

Officials gathered to mark the grand opening of Fire Station No. 3 at 9240
W. Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette, and the grand opening for Fire Station
No. 10 was held immediately afterwards at 3901 Bayou Road in Verret. 

 

"This is another great day in St. Bernard Parish," President Taffaro said.
"For me, this is not going to get old. When we are celebrating the rebirth
of community, I don't think we can ever get tired of the celebrations."

 

Taffaro said having permanent fire stations is critical to the safety and
economic development of the parish. "It is a direct benefit to the residents
who have returned" because it assures the parish's fire insurance rates will
remain at a good level. 

 

All of the work was paid for by FEMA and parish government insurance
proceeds Repairs at Fire Station No. 3 cost about $400,000, and the work on
Fire Station No. 10 cost about $500,000, Taffaro said. 

 

Although all of St. Bernard Parish's fire stations were damaged in Hurricane
Katrina, all of St. Bernard has had continuous fire protection with
firefighters stationed in temporary facilities throughout the parish. Fire
Station No. 1 in Arabi was the first renovated station to open in August
2009.

 

With Wednesday's celebrations, the parish has now three new fire stations,
five under construction and two ready to begin construction.

 

Bill Vogel, the Acting Deputy Director for the Louisiana Transitional
Recovery Office for FEMA, Walter Leger, a member of the Board of Directors
for the Louisiana Recovery Authority, and St. Bernard Parish Fire Chief
Thomas Stone echoed President Taffaro's theme of Growth and Recovery.

 

"The reopening of this station is an important recovery milestone, not only
for the St. Bernard Parish Fire Department, but for the entire community
that will benefit from its services," said Bill Vogel, the Acting Deputy
Director for the Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office for FEMA. 

 

"Undoubtedly, the rebuilding of St. Bernard Parish after Hurricane Katrina
has been a demanding and unprecedented task - one that has been spearheaded
by the determination and dedication of this community's leaders and also
driven by its resilient residents," Vogel said. "With that, I would like to
particularly applaud Craig for his commitment, leadership and, most
importantly, follow-through in his efforts to rebuild. At FEMA, we've had
the pleasure of being partners with you in your recovery efforts, and we
will continue to support your recovery goals as we work together to repair
and rebuild public facilities in St. Bernard Parish."

 

Vogel said FEMA, in total, has provided more than $783.0 million in public
assistance funding to St. Bernard Parish's recovery goals. 

 

Of our total PA funding of $783.0 million for St. Bernard, nearly $7.0
million has been provided for the repair/replacements of 10 fire stations,
firefighting equipment, fire house contents and a temporary fire station. 

 

Walter Leger said he was glad to see the forward momentum.

 

"As we look at the improvements to the levee to the side of this fire
station and see the new buildings and the greenness of this parish, it
doesn't take long for us to understand how much progress we have made,"
Leger said in his comments at the station in Verrett. To the leaders and to
the residents, he said, "You have made us proud because of what you have
done."

 

Fire Chief Thomas Stone thanked his firefighters for their dedication, with
all of them having to live and work in temporary quarters while during this
rebuilding period.


"They are my heroes, not only working out of trailers, but living in
trailers. My hat is off to them," Stone said. "Three down and seven more to
go."

 

St. Bernard Parish received hazard mitigation funds to elevate the essential
living quarters to the second floor for first responders at the Chalmette
and Verret stations so if there is any flooding, these facilities will be
able to be used for emergency responders, said Gil Carlin of the St. Bernard
Public Works Department.

 

In addition to elevating the living quarters, the work included interior
renovation and refurbishing of the exterior. A grant from the Governor's
Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness has provided an
emergency generator at Fire Station 10 and well as one that will be
installed at Fire Station No. 3. 

 

Asevedo Construction was in charge of construction at Fire Stations No. 3
and No. 10. Stuart Consultants and L-7 Architects were in charge of the
design for both stations. Dennis Tauzin is the project manager for both
projects for CDM which provides oversight for all FEMA-funded projects. Gil
Carlin of the St. Bernard Parish Department of Public Works is the project
manager and resident inspector for both stations. 

 

Stone said Fire Station No. 3 is the busiest station in the parish, and he
said that Fire Station No. 10 may be the most critical because it covers
such a wide area on the rural, eastern end of the parish. It currently
houses Fire Station No. 11's engine while that station is rebuilt. There
also is a station under construction in Delacroix Island as well.

 

Some of the other officials who celebrated the day at the fire stations were
state Rep. Nita Hutter, former Parish President Charlie Ponstein and Amanda
Beheyt of Congressman Charlie Melancon's office.  

 

For more information about Recovery and Growth in St. Bernard Parish, visit
our website at www.sbpg.net
<https://mail.sbpg.net/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.sbpg.net/> .

 

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