The Challenge
Forest Fire Control District 7 (Douglas) and 14 (Hopkinton) collectively protect people and property in 20 Environmental Justice (EJ) communities.
The loss of a home or business to wildfire can be a devastating financial burden for families especially if there is outstanding debt on the property. After a fire, minority/low-income populations may encounter more difficulty in reconstruction efforts if insurers, permitting staff, zoning boards, builders, etc., perpetuate persistent discriminatory housing policies and practices that have historically existed. Protecting homes from wildfires through fire suppression is critical to avoid catastrophic financial losses in communities. As demonstrated by the 2022 fire season, prolonged periods of severe drought, combined with multiple high-heat days with low dewpoints, increases the likelihood and intensity of wildfires—a pattern that is predicted to continue under climate change. The proposed wildfire management facility improvements will improve response times for initial attack of wildland fires threatening structures.
Project Scope
The goal of this project is to undertake a modernization of wildfire facilities and infrastructure used to support local fire departments with wildfire suppression and wildfire risk mitigation (prescribed fire). This project will include the study, design and construction of a Wildfire Management Operations Facility at Hopkinton State Forest, Wildfire Management Operations Facility at Douglas State Forest, and a comprehensive facility climate resiliency needs assessment. The existing Hopkinton facility was destroyed by snow loads in 2013 and they currently work out of temporary facility. The existing Douglas facility is incompatible with the growing need for wildfire support services and lacks basic sanitary facilities. Design of the Hopkinton facility will create a standard plan set for Douglas and additional future facility replacements. Climate smart building materials including local engineered hemlock cross laminated timber, glue-laminated timber and thermally modified wood developed by EEA, UMass, UNH, UMaine and the USFS will be used to demonstrate building with long lived wood products in support of the Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Plan.
Metrics
This study phase of the project reviewed other comparable facilities, met with Fire Control Staff to develop a building program and evaluated/reviewed floor plans. Further an analysis of energy efficient building systems is being explored, as well as sustainable materials and layout to separate “hot” zones (or contaminated zones) from administrative functions.
Current metrics being explored to compare to existing buildings are water meter readings, site surveys, land acreage, and Fire Control responses.
In later phases of the project, particularly construction completion, metrics will be measured over time including increased wildfire suppression, reduced response time from new facilities to combat wildfires.
Results
During the study phase of this project, it was determined that Hopkinton was a candidate for a new building which will serve as a model for future site developments with similar needs – currently, there is only a temporary maintenance tent on site rather than a constructed building. For Douglas, the current building was found to be inefficient to remodel due to outdated building codes, structural integrity, and the needs of current staff. The decision was made to instead focus on building a new facility near the original building.
Cross laminated timber (CLT) components were initially considered for structural use but were ultimately determined to be unsuited due to the extremely tight construction budgets, the loss of economy of scale for CLT construction due to the minimal size of the new single story buildings (4,400 GSF each), and the inability to have a ‘CLT manufacturer partner’ assist the pre-construction team in planning and engineering (due to the restrictions of MA Ch. 149 procurement). Additionally, after reviewing these buildings, it was decided that Cross Laminated Timber is not a best fit for the structural needs of this project. Instead, this project will use Glued laminated timber, or Glulam timber. Glulam is a stress-rated engineered wood beam composed of wood laminations bonded together with moisture-resistant adhesives. It is versatile and comparable strength to using steel for similar construction. We are using a modified CLT system for the roof: Glu-Lam timber columns, Glu-Lam timber beams at 12’ on center, with 3 ply cross laminated timber deck spanning between the beams. The exterior walls are standard 2x plywood sheathed wood walls. While cross laminated timber is not recommended for structural components of the building, it will be used for other applications within the building. The team also anticipates using locally thermally modified wood.
As part of the planning phase, the house doctor team (Johnson Roberts Associates, or JRA) has completed testing to review what is currently on each site. Ground boring tests, site surveys, locating any existing water or sewer connections, and MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) consultant analysis have been completed by JRA.
Not only will these facilities improve response to wildfires and suppression techniques to reduce incidence of wildfires but both buildings will be designed as net zero facilities using sustainable practices, systems and materials. Fire Control in these locations will have better amenities and access to necessary tools and vehicles in appropriate storage conditions, resulting in longer lasting and better maintained equipment.
Best Practices and Lessons Learned
Determining the right materials to use for this study involved investigating innovative green building materials that work best in this application for these critical facilities. Materials need to be strong yet able to withstand situations where fire safety drills or hazardous materials may be present.
Utilizing sustainable materials when possible, encouraging transparency between the DCR, Fire Control team, and JRA was instrumental not only to understand the limitations of different materials for the sites, but also to design a space that is in line with the operational and functional needs of Fire Control staff to support firefighting efforts. This is a collaborative effort between all team members.
Project Alignment with ResilientMass Plan Priority Actions
This project addresses Action 11: Wildfire Management Infrastructure Improvements, under the urgent priority impact Emergency Service Response Delays and Evacuation Disruptions of the 2023 ResilientMass Plan. It also aligns with the following goals:
- Resilient State Assets and Services
- Implement Adaptation Actions for Communities and Ecosystems
- Resilient and Equitable Infrastructure, Ecosystems, and Communities
This project contributes to the following 2022 MA Climate Assessment Priority Impacts:
- Health Effects from Degraded Air Quality in the Human Health and Safety Sector.
- Damage or loss to homes and critical facilities in the wildland urban interface in the Infrastructure Sector.
- Forest Health Degradation in the Natural Environment Sector
- Increase in Demand for State and Municipal Government Services in the Government Sector.
- Economic Losses from Commercial Structure Damage and Business Interruptions in the Economy Sector.
Further Action
Study is underway and expected to be completed in Fall 2024.
Engaged Fire Control staff with architecture staff and JRA, who has experience in rehabilitation of all fire houses in the City of Cambridge.
Our hope is to replicate these facilities state-wide over all districts. In some cases, it may make better sense to rehab existing facilities as this will preserve embodied carbon in existing buildings.
In FY 25 we intend to complete this study phase and move into final design of these facilities. In FY 26 construction will be underway.
Additional Information and Resources
Options being discussed:
Option 1.
Option 2.
Final floor plan layout and massing will assist in creating prototypes to replicate these facilities across the state.
Creating color coded workspaces allows for easily visual markers for worker safety, appropriate storage processes, and operations flow. Red areas are contamination areas where employees can store equipment, store vehicles, complete maintenance work, and store hazardous materials. Yellow areas are a transitionary space where one would pass between green areas and the red areas. Green areas are non-contamination zones, such as office space, bathrooms, lockers, and conference rooms.