Firefighters and staff have moved into a state-of-the art fire station that will serve the city of Chester and its residents for years to come.
Work began on the new building around 15 months ago, to replace the former ageing station on St Anne Street. Despite the prospect of building a new fire station during the Covid-19 pandemic, the main contractor, ISG, and all sub-trades rose to the challenge and the keys have now been handed over to the new station.
It boasts modern training facilities such as a new training tower, breathing apparatus building and road traffic collision training area, and is generally a better working environment for all staff based there.
It’s also more cost-effective to run and maintain, has improved accessibility, and houses improved community facilities, meaning that Chester’s new fire station will be serving the community in more ways than one.
And a real feather in the cap for Cheshire is that the new station is a ‘zero carbon’ building – making it one of the first fire stations in the country to use as much or even less energy than it produces through renewable energy sources.
Vebro Polymers’ heavy duty 9.0 mm polyurethane concrete flooring system, vebrocrete HF, has been installed by specialist flooring contractor, MJF Group, in the apparatus bays and vehicle maintenance support areas at the upgraded station.
Polyurethane concrete is most often associated with the food and beverage industry, however it’s also an excellent heavy duty flooring option for facilities requiring a robust, abrasion resistant, chemical resistant and slip resistant floor system… which along with safety and ease of cleaning were top of the priority list for Chester Community Fire Station!
When loaded with equipment and water, emergency fire vehicles can be extremely heavy! Not many flooring options have the weight load capacity to handle the frequent entering and exiting of such large vehicles!
vebrocrete HF offers the durability needed to support severe heavy loaded traffic and impact. The system is trowel applied and contains white flint aggregates to deliver a profiled finish that can meet R12 – R13 slip resistance – ensuring safety underfoot!
“The wellbeing of our firefighters and staff is of paramount importance to me, so I couldn’t be happier that our Chester teams now have such a fine working environment from which to operate.”
Mark Cashin, Chief Fire Officer
“For much of the past 15 months, the crews have been based in a temporary station and they have continued to carry out their duties with great professionalism and dedication, and I want to place on record my thanks to them.
“A particularly pleasing aspect for me is that the building is carbon neutral, which I think sends a real message about our commitment to being an organisation that not only cares about its people and its communities, but also about the environment around us.
“I look forward to a bright future for firefighting in Chester and I can’t wait to see how the teams are settling into their new home.”
MJF Group is an established support services company providing specialist solutions to businesses nationwide.
Since 2006 the company has built an enviable reputation in the commercial cleaning market, fuelling a later expansion into site services and specialist flooring alongside growth from local to national level.
MJF’s dedicated team of flooring experts are a group of highly skilled professionals who deliver a first-class service, ensuring all of their flooring solutions achieve outstanding results within an efficient and timely manner.
MJF pride themselves on offering their clients extremely competitive prices, without ever compromising results.
