A ground breaking ceremony for La Quinta's newest fire station will be held on Wednesday, November 4, at 11am.

The ceremony will take place at 78-111 Avenue 52, the site for La Quinta Fire Station No. 32.

The 7,200 square-foot fire station will have space to fit up to four engines. It will also feature photovoltaic solar panels to generate electricity, which is in compliance with the California Energy Code. Outside will have desertscape landscaping with plants that are drought-tolerant and require less water, fertilizers and herbicides.

The total cost of the fire station is estimated at $6.8 million. This also includes Phase I of the City Corporate Yard, adjacent to the station. New paving and covered parking will be added for the Public Works equipment as well as a Compressed Natural Gas Station (CNG).

$5 million was awarded in contracts and of that, $3.3 million went to firms located in the Coachella Valley. The multi prime contractor delivery method was used for the project. This method entails breaking up the job into smaller components so local firms had a better chance of getting a portion of the work. The specifications for the project also included a local preference clause which gave local contractors a 2% bidding advantage over contractors from outside the boundaries of Coachella Valley Association of Governments.

Of the 12 contracts awarded, six were awarded to contractors located in the Coachella Valley including, Davis Reed Construction Inc (three contracts), Kincaid Construction, Desert Concepts, and Del's Flooring.

The fire station is expected to be completed early Fall of 2010.

“The new fire station will include many state of the art features. Some of these include exhaust gas capture systems, which remove cancer-causing vehicle emissions and directly vent them outside the building. The firefighter's turnouts will be cleaned via a high performance commercial ‘extractor' washing machine which is better suited to remove poisons and carcinogens deposited on their protective gear,” explained Dorian J. Cooley, Division Chief.

“Operationally the location of the station will allow faster access to the core of the City without sacrificing coverage to the La Quinta Cove neighborhood. It will be exciting to see this latest service improvement come on line for our La Quinta residents,” he added.

For those interested in attending the ground breaking, please RSVP to 777-7090. Refreshments will be served.