Delivering a More Resilient, Healthier Workplace for Firefighters

Rancho Cucamonga’s new all-electric, net-zero-energy fire station, home to one of the first electric fire trucks in North America, provides a case study for developing facilities that prioritize first responders’ health and safety.

In Rancho Cucamonga’s busy central district, designers came together with city and fire district officials to develop a model for a next-generation, all-electric fire station, including one of North America’s first electric fire trucks.

For the City of Rancho Cucamonga Fire District, Fire Station 178 was an opportunity to rethink the operating costs, noise pollution and carbon footprint associated with a typical fire station. The district was also looking for new ways to support firefighters’ health and wellness, which was one factor in the decision to buy the Rosenbauer RTX electric truck, only the third all-electric fire engine to go into service in North America.

“Our top priority is the health and safety of our community and firefighters,” says City of Rancho Cucamonga Fire Chief Mike McCliman. “The electric engine is better for our engineers because the pump runs separately from the drive train. Standard fire apparatus use the diesel combustion engine to drive the pump, thereby blowing diesel exhaust fumes in and around the engineers while they are pumping the fire.”

The design process explored many of the big issues facing the next era of essential service facilities, taking the next step toward developing a self-sustaining, energy-independent fire station. An integrated team of designers, mechanical engineers and electrical engineers focused on delivering an efficient building with systems designed to provide continuous operation through power outages, natural disasters and other emergencies.

“This is the next stage in resilient design for essential service facilities,” says Jeremy Hart, director of LPA’s Civic and Cultural practice. “From the start, we knew the larger question was: What if the big one hits, and you’re not getting diesel fuel for your generators or fire apparatus?”

A MICRO-GRID APPROACH

The new two-story, 12,176-square-foot fire station is located on one of Rancho Cucamonga’s main streets, next to a shopping center, in an area planned for high-density residential and large-scale office building developments. For the growing city, several community goals converged around the station, which neighbors a 9/11 memorial park and includes a 24-hour walkup library kiosk. The station was developed through a design build process, with Mary McGrath Architects as the design architect and LPA the architect of record.

Net-zero energy wasn’t a specific city goal, but the designers, engineers and a team of subcontractors explored different models and combinations of PV, energy management and battery systems to eliminate fossil fuels from the station operations, while meeting the technical, safety and public service requirements.

“This is a project so complicated only an integrated firm could pull it off,” Hart says. “If we weren’t all thinking the same way, having the same approach to solving this problem, it could have gotten really messy.”

The city wanted the station to include the capability to serve a second electric truck, as well as an electric emergency vehicle, and to support systems for the firefighters living and working in the facility around the clock. The challenge was to right-size the facility and find the right mix of energy technologies within the project budget. The system is designed with photovoltaic (PV) panels necessary to run the facility off-the-grid for at least 24 hours, with battery support.

The analysis started with a detailed exploration of the station’s operations and energy use, from the microwaves and washing machines to HVAC and lighting systems. “These systems all need to stay on and operational when there is a power outage,” says LPA’s Project Manager Jessica Isler. To reduce energy demand, designers and engineers focused on creating an efficient envelope, HVAC and added LED lighting systems, while optimizing natural lighting. Evaluating the demands for keeping an electric engine charged and ready for service was more difficult — it hadn’t been done in the real-life situations.

Ultimately, 250 photovoltaic panels located on carports were coupled with a battery storage and energy management system to produce enough energy to power the station and charge the fire truck without grid support for up to 24 hours. Even on cloudy days and after the sun goes down, the system is designed to run indefinitely, if necessary, thanks to the battery storage. The analysis found that a smaller battery system than initially planned — 500 kWh of battery storage, fed by 330 kWh of PV energy — could meet the 24-hour backup power requirement. The energy management system directs energy from the PV panels to the batteries, the station or the grid.

“The energy management system is always going to default to the cheapest source of electricity, whether it’s coming from the battery or the PV system or the utility grid, when necessary,” says LPA Director of Engineering Erik Ring.

The station has a diesel generator available, but it is meant only as a backup system to the PV and batteries, providing an extra level of resiliency. “The system is purposely designed with a portable diesel generator, not a permanent fossil fuel generator,” Chief McCliman says. “By making it portable, we can depend on the micro-grid and only bring it in if it’s absolutely necessary.”

A HEALTHIER ENVIRONMENT

For the fire district, the switch to an all-electric environment is part of a commitment to minimize firefighters’ exposure to toxic air contaminants and harmful chemicals. Unlike a traditional station, the all-electric facility doesn’t need fume extractor hoses to funnel emissions from the diesel truck out of the facility. In the field, firefighters will no longer face exposure to diesel exhaust as they work.

The Rosenbauer RTX, developed by Austrian manufacturer Rosenbauer, provides near-silent operations and is able to pump water for more than an hour on one charge (an energy backup system can recharge batteries for extended operations). The truck will also be the first clean cab in the Rancho Cucamonga Fire District’s fleet. As an additional safety measure, firefighters’ turnout gear is stored in outside compartments, reducing their exposure to carcinogens.

The move to an all-electric station will provide long-term benefits for the department and the health of firefighters, Chief McCliman says. The new station is part of a move toward smaller, more nimble facilities that better suit the community’s needs. The Rosenbauer engine can change from a low-center-of-gravity, street-based fire engine to an off-road-height fire engine with four-wheel-drive capability.

“What we’re learning is, as areas of the city become more urban, our design of the station needs to reflect the evolving community,” Chief McCliman says. “A station with a smaller footprint will allow future stations to fit in areas of our city where we receive a high volume of calls for service.”

With Fire Station 178 open, Rancho Cucamonga is already planning for a series of smaller, more energy-efficient stations. Two stations are in development, using an energy micro-grid design similar to Fire Station 178, including electric fire trucks, which will save each station hundreds of dollars a month in fuel and operating expenses.

Reducing a fire station’s reliance on fossil fuels “just seems like a commonsense approach,” Chief McCliman says.