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Former DOT buildings demolished to make way for Fairfield’s new fire station
FAIRFIELD — Fairfield residents who venture to the corner of West Briggs Avenue and North Fourth Street will notice something is missing.
That something is the Iowa Department of Transportation office, which was demolished last week by contractor Bob Brown Excavating of Fairfield. The city purchased the two DOT buildings at that intersection in 2020, and has chosen that plot as the location of the new fire station.
Fairfield City Engineer and Public Works Director Melanie Carlson said the contractor tore down the west building, the one with the DOT offices inside, and plans to salvage at least a portion of the east building, which the DOT used for construction management and rock testing.
Before the buildings could come down, the city ordered all asbestos removed, and the asbestos abatement began a few weeks before Bob Brown Excavating started tearing the buildings down. Carlson said asbestos was a popular construction material between the 1950s and 1980s, and even buildings that were remodeled during this time can contain it. The Environmental Protection Agency’s website indicates that asbestos was popular because of its fiber strength and heat resistance. However, it is now regarded as a hazard because the small asbestos fibers can be breathed in when asbestos is disturbed, and breathing in the substance has been shown to cause lung cancer and other lung-related health problems.
Carlson said asbestos was found in the pipe insulation in the west building, and in the glue used in floor tiles in the east building.
Once all the debris from the former DOT buildings is hauled away, Bob Brown Excavating will have to remove some old foundations left in the ground from when a school building once stood at that site. Carlson said she expects that to be done in another month or two, before the next phase of the fire station construction can begin.
“With inflation, we’re still looking for funding sources for the fire station, because we want to build it right,” Carlson said. “If we have to delay it a little bit to get some additional funding, we may. We’re still working through that.”
Carlson said the city hopes to open the new fire station in late 2024. The city plans for the new station to be 19,000 square feet, more than double the space it takes up now at North Second Street where it occupies 9,000 square feet. The new station will have enough space to accommodate all the department’s vehicles, which cannot fit in the current station.
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
