2025 Mountain States Best Projects
Project of the Year Finalist, Best Government/Public Building: City of Boise Fire Station No. 5
City of Boise Fire Station No. 5
Boise
PROJECT OF THE YEAR FINALIST and BEST PROJECT, GOVERNMENT/PUBLIC BUILDING
Submitted by ESI Construction
Owner: City of Boise
Lead Design Firm: Hummel Architects
General Contractor: ESI Construction
Civil Engineer: The Land Group
Structural Engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers
MEP Engineer: Cator & Ruma Associates Co.
Although this project’s original scope was to remodel an existing 73-year-old fire station to bring it up to code, the team quickly discovered that the structure was beyond repair. After a year of information gathering, the old facility was demolished and in its place is a two-story, 15,000-sq-ft fire station that features a three-bay apparatus area and support spaces, along with a spacious public lobby that doubles as a safe room with a triggered locking entry door.
The project team knew that because of the emotional attachment to the firehouse, they had to include current and retired firefighters from Fire Station No. 5 in the new building design. They conducted several walkthroughs of the old station to hear the stories and find out how best to preserve its legacy, and this input was incorporated into the project’s concepts, designs and layouts.
As the team got to work on the new building, they also helped No. 5’s firefighters move into their temporary facility down the street. A former funeral parlor was converted to living quarters, office/workspace, storage area for equipment and a bay for a fire apparatus. The team made structural modifications and poured new concrete flooring to retrofit this decades-old building to keep up with a higher-than-average pace of operations.
Photo courtesy Tobin Rogers
After the fire crews settled into their temporary home, the construction team was presented with another opportunity to do some collaborative problem-solving as utility crews started work on extensive fiber optic upgrades and other infrastructure improvements around the project site. Overhead utilities in and around the site presented the greatest challenge and coordination effort to resolve, which impacted the schedule.
Idaho Power was eventually able to come on site and relocate these power lines, but the team was able to accomplish as much as possible in the interim through extensive planning and adjustments to the sequence of work. Consistent communication and daily coordination saved both teams time and headaches as they completed their respective scopes of work with minimal impact on the overall schedule.
Elements from the old firehouse were incorporated throughout the new building, including a section of wooden flooring from the old station that now serves as a wall and accent piece, along with brickwork that can be found throughout the new station’s interior.
Photo courtesy Tobin Rogers
Energy saving and environmental sustainability elements were also built into the design, with 100 rooftop solar panels capable of sustaining around-the-clock operations.
ESI’s safety team used the project as an opportunity to expand its library of training videos. In this case, Fire Station No. 5 was the ideal project to capture roof penetration training. The construction team prepared the site for filming and were also used as the “talent” during production. This training video is now used to supplement ESI’s robust training programs and is routinely shared with trade partners and subcontractors.
From setting up temporary housing for equipment and personnel to installing rooftop solar panels to meet the city’s green building standards, the project team ensured first responders maintained their pace of operations at the busiest fire station in the state of Idaho.
