OCEAN HILL — Construction is underway for a new eco-friendly firehouse and training facility specially built for a Brooklyn FDNY unit trained to respond to particularly tough emergencies, the fire department said.
The 21,000-square-foot firehouse, to be built at 1815 Sterling Pl. on the border of Crown Heights and Brownsville, will be home to Brooklyn’s Rescue Company 2, one of five units in the city trained to deal with high-angle rescues, building collapses, water rescues and incidents involving hazardous materials, officials said during the Thursday groundbreaking.
It will also feature many environmentally friendly features, including a geothermal heat system that should reduce energy use by a third, a green roof, permeable pavement to reduce stormwater runoff and recycled building materials, according to the city’s Department of Design and Construction.
"This firehouse will be a leader in energy efficiency, moving our city closer to an environmentally sustainable and resilient future," Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
"With ample space for tools and a training facility on the roof, this firehouse will be the impressive space that New York’s bravest deserve,” the mayor added.
Within the new building, Rescue 2, which has worked in Brooklyn since 1925, will have space in a large, open interior and on a specially designed roof to practice rescues in conditions that recreate bridges, ladders, balconies and other city-specific scenarios.
The $32 million project, first announced in December, is expected to be complete by the summer of 2018, the city said. When it opens, Rescue 2 will move from its current location in a small brick firehouse on Bergen Street, the unit’s home since the mid-1980s.
“Rescue Company 2 has a proud and storied history of bravery and service,” said FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro.
“The construction of their new state-of-the-art home in Brooklyn will mean more opportunities for the highly-skilled members assigned there to train for the wide variety of life-threatening emergencies they respond to each and every day,” the commissioner added.
