[StBernard] Fire Station ground breaking

[Westley Annis]

Ground Breaking of Fire Station No. 12 held Thursday, May 7

Another celebration of growth in St. Bernard Parish

 

St. Bernard Parish President Craig P. Taffaro Jr., along with FEMA and a
host of local officials, celebrated Recovery and Growth in St. Bernard
Parish with a Ground Breaking ceremony at the site of the Delacroix Island
Fire Station No. 12 on Thursday.

 

"Hopefully firefighters will be enjoying Thanksgiving dinner in a new fire
station," said President Taffaro, who stood next to the area where pilings
are now in the ground as he thanked all of the officials who played a role
in project. "This building is being built so the first floor can be easily
cleaned after a storm so we can get right back to work."

 

Bill Vogel, the Acting Deputy Director for the Louisiana Transitional
Recovery Office for FEMA, said that this station that will be 70 percent
larger than the previous one is an important asset for the community and
represents only a part of the federal government's commitment of more than
$7 million to rebuild fire stations in the parish.

 

"I saw you at grand openings for Fire Stations 3 and 10 two weeks ago, and
now we have pilings in the ground here. This is great progress. My hat is
off to you. We certainly will continue to support whatever.. is needed. If
this facility was not here, the community would not be able to be here."

 

The construction on Fire Station No. 12 that will be paid for with FEMA
funds and insurance proceeds will cost about $1.14 million and should be
completed by the end of November. The station at 4623 Delacroix Highway in
Delacroix Island will have elevated living quarters and is being built to
mitigate hurricane conditions, Taffaro said.

 

Fire Chief Thomas Stone said the new station is sorely needed in this bayou
community, and the residents "are going to be excited when they see the new
design."

 

"For the people who have chosen to live down here it will mean something to
have adequate fire protection," said Councilman Fred Everhardt, who
represents the eastern district of the parish.

 

Aegis Construction is the contractor. Stuart Consultants is in charge of the
project's engineering, and L-7 Architects is the firm responsible for the
design. Dennis Tauzin is the project manager for both projects for CDM which
provides oversight for all FEMA-funded projects, and Gil Carlin of the St.
Bernard Parish Department of Public Works is the project manager and
resident inspector. 

 

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/> .

 

###