Tubac Fire District was established in 1974. The original fire station in Tubac was built at least two years prior and not intended to be used for residential purposes as the District was all volunteer at the time. Unfortunately, there are no records at the fire district or at the county to verify the original building dates or when additions were made to the original structure. The square footage of the current station/office area is 4,600.
2007
Site plan for the installation of a modular trailer – The District installed a modular trailer to allow additional room for administrative office space. At the time, firefighters were sleeping in FEMA trailers formally used for the Hurricane Katrina response.
2008
TFD 2008 Bond Notice is the public notice sent to all residents of Tubac Fire District regarding the 2008 bond election. The notice outlines the six projects to be funded by the bond package, which include a new Station #1, Administration Building and Training Building for a total cost estimate of $6.4 million.
2007/2008
TFD Fire Station Design Guide was developed by MWT Consulting/Project Management as a design guide to be used in the planning and construction of Stations 3 and 4. Included in this document beginning on page 19 is reference to planning for relocation and construction of new Station #1.
2017/2018
2017/18 Correspondence citing SCC Bldg Code Violations - Fire District staff installed two bunkrooms in one of the apparatus bays. Unfortunately, there was no permit to allow for the construction and due to the significance of complying with building safety codes, the county building inspector cited the District with a number of building code violations, including Americans with Disability Act (ADA) violations.
A series of newspaper articles were written as a result of the code violations and permitting issues:
- Dec 2017 – Nogales International article – DIY bedrooms
- Dec 2017 – Nogales International article – Ditch bedrooms
- Tubac Villager article – Dec 17 New bunk rooms for firefighters
- Tubac Villager article – Jan 18 Alternatives needed for sleeping quarters
- Tubac Villager article – Temporary sleeping quarters
2023
For additional information on fire station requirements and design, please visit the following websites:
- https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/design_of_fire_ems_stations.pdf - “Safety and Health Considerations for the Design of Fire and Emergency Medical Services Stations”, a guidance document published by the US Fire Administration
- https://www.wbdg.org/building-types/community-services/fire-station - Information regarding fire station building attributes, emerging issues, relevant codes and standards, and additional resources, published by the National Institute of Building Sciences
- https://www.firehouse.com/stations/architects/news/21011092/station-design-integrating-nfpa-standards-into-your-fire-station - An article from the 2018 Station Design Conference stressing fire station design and its impact on NFPA standards compliance
- https://www.fhstationdesign.com/ - Information and program for the 2020 Station Design Conference in Chicago