CB Fire Hall construction could finish within a year

Exploring off-site housing options later

By Mark Reaman

The most noticeable public construction site along Gothic Road at this point is the new Crested Butte Fire Protection District (CBFPD) fire hall. While the CB News last week updated progress with the Crested Butte Community School expansion and construction of the Mineral Point affordable housing projects, we thought we should update progress on the fire hall project that includes a new search-and-rescue building. Both are located just north of Crested Butte’s Slate River subdivision near Aperture and the CB Cemetery. At this point, all is progressing as planned and the hope is to have firefighters and EMS personnel occupying the buildings by fall of next year.

CBFPD chief executive officer Sean Caffrey said the work has been going on for about 60 days and it is on schedule. “We have been pleased with the progress to date,” he said. “Work is currently continuing on the foundation elements in anticipation of above-ground construction beginning later in August. Utility work on the site will be continuing into the fall. The objective is to get the underground work substantially complete and the structure dried-in to the extent possible before the snow comes.”

Caffrey confirmed there were some groundwater issues in the spring, and he said starting construction at that time probably will result in better mitigation of high-water concerns given the location next to the Slate River just north of town. 

“I think we started at a good time in early June when the water table was likely at its highest,” Caffrey explained. “We were able to identify and mitigate issues with groundwater, mostly on the north side of the fire station where the interior spaces will be. Mitigation included over-excavation and application of additional rock for stability under the foundation.”

 Caffrey said there have been no major hiccups or issues to date, “just some small things like the over-excavation and additional rock mentioned above that are within our contingency budget.”

The same contractor that is doing the school expansion, FCI Constructors Inc. out of Grand Junction, is doing the fire hall, and Caffrey said he has been informed that the FCI team is pleased with how the schedule is progressing so far. “There is potential we may be in by the end of 2025,” he said. “The major excavation and sitework is wrapping up and foundation elements and stem walls are in progress for both buildings. As mentioned, vertical construction will begin in a few weeks as the framing of both buildings goes up.

“One of the more conspicuous items in July was the placement of the 25,000-gallon water tank that will be used for the fire suppression sprinkler system in both buildings,” Caffrey continued. “It is substantially over-sized to provide additional water we can use to fill our trucks in the event of a fire in nearby areas without fire hydrants. Passersby may also notice a mound on the back of the site with a bunch of materials. This is the structural steel for the search-and-rescue building.”

The project is budgeted for about $28 million and the project is currently on track with about $5 million spent through July. The fire station will be approximately 22,500 square feet with the search-and-rescue facility coming in at about 4,700 square feet. The facilities will use a well for water and tie into Crested Butte’s wastewater treatment system. As part of the bond approved by voters, affordable housing units were to be included and Caffrey said those are being considered off-site.

“We are continuing to work through the sewer connection agreements, well permitting, electric and internet service,” he said. “We are also working with Gunnison County Public Works on signage for CR-317 (Gothic Road) to indicate when emergency vehicles are exiting. We also have our civil engineers looking at the site to determine how we can best prepare for a future training building that was planned for the site, but will likely be a future item due to budget constraints. We have decided to avoid doing any housing on the site and continue to explore off-site options in Crested Butte, Larkspur and Prospect that will likely not kick off until 2025 at the earliest. The good news is we currently have no members in urgent need of housing, however, that tends to change unexpectedly.”

The hope is to have the facility completed a little more than a year from now. “If everything goes without a hitch we could be in as early as the fall of 2025 or as late as the spring of 2026,” concluded Caffrey.