[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish officials celebrate ground breaking of Fire Station No. 3

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish officials celebrate ground breaking of Fire Station No. 3

 

St. Bernard Parish President Craig P. Taffaro, Jr. and other local, state
and federal officials marked the ground breaking of Fire Station No. 3 in
Chalmette with shovels and speeches. 

 

"Getting construction under way on the 10th and final fire station is an
important milestone in our recovery, President Taffaro said. "Our
firefighters deserve no less. We are appreciative to our partners with FEMA
for allowing us to demolish this facility and rebuild it to address the
problems that have developed as a result of Hurricane Katrina. I also want
to thank our partners in the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and
Emergency Preparedness and our local staff who are working hard on this
project and are part of a great St. Bernard."

 

"FEMA is happy to be a part of this project to bring Fire Station No. 3 back
specifically because it's going to benefit first responders who we recognize
to be pivotal in responses to natural disasters," said Eddie Williams, FEMA
Public Assistance Officer. "Whenever we can ensure that buildings like fire
stations will be rebuilt to sustain and mitigate against future disasters,
it helps the community respond to disasters more quickly and efficiently."

 

"We are very excited to have Fire Station No. 3 being built because it
serves one of the most densely populated areas of St. Bernard Parish," Fire
Chief Thomas Stone said. "This fire station will not only house an
engine/ladder company, but it also will house Rescue Squad No. 1. We would
like to thank the administration and FEMA for getting this project off the
ground." 

 

Fire Station # 3 Replacement Project will be constructed for $2,804,500 by
Ryan Gootee General Contractors, LLC of Metairie, which submitted the lowest
responsible bid of seven contractors. The architectural and engineer will
handled by Chase Design Group. Construction should be completed by early
summer of next year. The facility, better known as the Central Station
located at 9240 W. Judge Perez in Chalmette at the corner of Pakenham Drive,
will be the largest of the new replacement stations at 8,863 gross square
feet, and the structure is designed to withstand 130 mph wind gusts. This
project is completely FEMA funded. Fire Station No. 3 is the last of 10 fire
stations to be rehabilitated or constructed since Hurricane Katrina damaged
all of them.

 

Craig Landry is this project's manager for CDM and Dennis Tauzin has
oversight over all FEMA-funded recovery projects for St. Bernard. President
Taffaro thanked all of the partners as well as the government employees who
are assisting with the project, including Chief Administrative Officer Dave
Dysart, St. Bernard Parish Recovery Director Michael Dorris, Jr. and his
staff, Public Works Director Kenneth Odinet and his staff, including Gil
Carlin, who is the project's resident inspector in addition to Fire Chief
Thomas Stone and all of the parish's firefighters.

 

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

 

###