NCFPD opts for Station 3 conventional construction

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

Previous North County Fire Protection District plans for a new modular building for Station 3 in Rainbow have been replaced with a decision to pursue a conventional construction remodel including expansion of the existing station.

A 5-0 NCFPD board vote Jan. 25 recommended conventional construction for the Station 3 upgrade.

"With a modular building you don't get everything you need in a modern-day fire station," said NCFPD Fire Chief Keith McReynolds.

The North County Fire Protection District was created in 1986 when the Fallbrook Fire Protection District merged with the county service area which provided fire protection to Rainbow and Gavilan Mountain was added to the new district. The Rainbow Volunteer Fire Department retained its autonomy, and the Rainbow fire station became NCFPD Station 6. The station was renamed Station 3 in 2018 when the original Station 3 in Olive Hill was closed due to the relocation of Station 5 in Bonsall. The Rainbow Volunteer Fire Department was consolidated into the North County Fire Protection District in 2018.

Because the Rainbow fire station utilized a volunteer fire department, living quarters were not incorporated into the design. "It was built in the 1970s as a volunteer station," McReynolds said.

"There were no dorms," McReynolds said. "It does not have the amenities that fire stations need."

In February 2021, the NCFPD board authorized up to $425,000 for the purchase, construction, and installation of a modular building which would be used for crew living quarters. The plan was for the modular building to be the first phase of the upgrade and an extensive remodel of the existing facility to be the second phase. The existing fire station would remain and be used for such functions as storage, laundry facilities, and an exercise and a fitness area. A modular building currently on the site which has been used as a training facility would be removed.

The February 2021 decision was made prior to the allocation of $900,000 for Station 3 in the 2021-22 state budget. State Assemblymember Marie Waldron presented a $900,000 check to the fire district at the Dec. 14 NCFPD board meeting. The county is also applying for $494,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funding for Station 3 upgrades. The funding will allow for a conventional construction remodel of Station 3.

The $621,600 estimated expense to renovate 777 square feet is the same for both the modular option and the conventional construction scenario as is the $300,000 fee allowance and the $80,000 budgeted cost for fire station alerting equipment. Modular living quarters have a $450,000 cost estimate while adding 1,740 square feet to the current station has an estimated cost of $1,740,000.

Including contingency and incidental costs, the total budget for the modular alternative is $1,566,760 while the conventional construction total cost is estimated at $2,985,760. The lifespan of a modular building is approximately 20 years while the lifespan of conventional construction is generally 50 years.

The fire district budgeted $425,000 for the modular building, so that funding would be available for conventional construction. Property tax revenue for Rainbow would allow $1,655,193 to be used for the Station 3 upgrade, so with the state and American Rescue Plan Act funding the fire district has $3,474,193 available. "We have funding already in place," McReynolds said.

NCPFD staff will pursue a design-build option for the conventional construction upgrade. "We're going to begin the process of developing a request for proposals," McReynolds said. "Our hope is to get that out within the next six months."