Beach fire station wins County award
Fowler Construction and Development was the recipient of the prestigious 2009 Summit Award for the design of Fort Myers Beach Station #32 at the Greater FMB Chamber of Commerce Luncheon at Matanzas Inn Restaurant Thursday.
Robert Fowler Jr. received a plaque from Fort Myers Beach Fire Chief Mike Becker in honor of the building at 17891 San Carlos Blvd. The distinction goes to the best public works project in the community building industry in Lee County.
“What’s most special about this award is that it is a collaboration of so many folks in this Beach community,” said Fowler. “The collaborating team consists of, first and foremost, the district who was very much part of the planning. Chief Becker and his staff were very gracious and intentional about what they needed to accomplish to best serve the Fort Myers Beach community.
“Another major part of the planning team is Gora McGahey (the architectural firm). We’ve teamed with them on quite a few fire stations recently. We started that relationship on the Fort Myers Beach Library in 1991. We’re very proud and appreciative of the chance to serve the Beach in this capacity.”
Becker was proud to present such an award.
“The Summit Award represents the best building facility in the community,” said Becker. “It was in competition with other buildings such as the Justice Center and other fire stations throughout the County.
“The building design is special because it serves the community in a very unique manner. Not only is it a station that serves both fire protection and Advanced Life Support transport as well as ALS non-transport, but it also serves as a command and operation center during storms and other disasters like the Swine Flu.”
Becker noted that the honored station has a wind capacity of 150 miles per hour. The newly rebuilt building hosted an open house back in June. The local fire district is celebrating its 60th year of serving the Beach and, since its inception in 1949, it is proud to be the second longest fire service in the County.