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With a major addition on Central Station and a new fire station in the Village of Lansing, district officials are planning upgrades to Station 4.  Architect George Breuhaus met with the Lansing Fire Commissioners Tuesday to review preliminary plans for the North Lansing fire station.

Central Station and Station 5 in the Village are the hubs for Lansing emergency responders.  While emergency equipment is kept at Station 4 and Station 3 in Lansingville, they are also frequently used for meetings and meals.  Station 4 famously hosts the election day dinner and supper each year, as well as a series of breakfasts to raise money for charitable works of the North Lansing Auxiliary.  Construction will focus on the meeting room and kitchen portions of the building.

The most noticeable change will be a new entrance to the main meeting hall.  Breuhaus says none of the existing doorways are wide enough for wheelchair accessibility.  He proposed a vestibule with a glass front, an inner and outer door, and decorated on the outside with faux stone similar to that on the new Village fire station, as well as replacing rotted woonden wainscoting outside the building.


Breuhaus says hoods will be added along with fire suppression equipment in the kitchen.  Many kitchen cabinets and a counter will be replaced.  Insulation will be improved, and a washable surface will be installed in the back of the kitchen.  Most of the appliances will remain where they are.

"The kitchen is basically staying where it is," Breuhaus said.  "We're going to add hoods.  We'll redo the counter top on a big unit where the dishes are stored.  You'll have a brand new counter top, but the cabinet underneath would stay.  None of the cabinets on the wall are in great shape, and we have to take them off anyway to work on the wall, so we'll redo those."

Breuhaus recommended replacing the drop ceiling in the main meeting room with a chipboard ceiling.  He said that doing so would raise the height of the room by six inches.  He also recommended LED lighting, which he said would cost more initially, but would last without bulb replacement for an estimated ten years.  He added that the ceiling in the kitchen room would have to remain a drop ceiling and recommended upgrading to new surface mounted fluorescent fixtures in that room.

A new unisex handicap accessible bathroom is also planned in addition to the existing two bathrooms.  Commissioners say a new septic system may also be needed.  Breuhaus also recommended an air conditioning system, saying that if the district rents the building for weddings and other events it will enhance the hall's usability.  But fire officials say they do not make a profit on hall rentals so the expense may not be warranted.

The Commissioners said they will discuss the proposal and come to a decision on the final scope of the projet.  Breuhaus suggested a target date for contractor bids for early March.

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