Sarasota County Fire Station 3 celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday, Dec. 10.

The 9,100-square-foot building at 47 N. Adams Drive, St. Armands, is the first Sarasota County fire station built in compliance with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green-building standards. Four firefighter/paramedics and firefighter/emergency technicians are on duty at any given time at the facility. The station opened Oct. 27.

The station’s green features include solar water heating, a cistern for collecting rainwater, a graywater system that uses recycled water for flushing toilets, native Florida landscaping, environmentally friendly lighting and parking for alternative transportation.

Energy and water costs for the building are expected to be 15% lower than those of a standard building. The fire station also has a meeting room that will be open to the community with seating for 20.

“This has been a wonderful effort, long overdue,” said Sarasota County Commissioner Joe Barbetta, in a speech prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “This is a great day for Sarasota.”

Contact Robin Hartill at rhartill@yourobserver.com.
 

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