***MEDIA ADVISORY***

FIRE COMMISSIONER SCOPPETTA AND DDC COMMISSIONER DAVID
J. BURNEY ANNOUNCE OPENING OF NEWLY CONSTRUCTED FIREHOUSE

Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and the City’s Department of Design and Construction Commissioner David J. Burney will join the firefighters of Engine Company 277 and Ladder Company 112 tomorrow to announce the opening of the newly constructed, state-of-the-art firehouse at 582 Knickerbocker Ave. in Brooklyn.

The three-story firehouse includes a double-bay apparatus floor with separate doors for each company, a kitchen and dining room, a small interior courtyard, a finished basement, an office area for supervisors and a training room, along with locker and shower/bathroom facilities for male and female firefighters. The 16,000 square-foot facility, which is now triple the size of the previous firehouse, was designed by the architectural firm STV and has been recognized by the City’s Art Commission with an excellence in design award.

The $12.5 million construction project began in October 2005 after the completion of the design and land use review process. During the design phase, the City’s Department of Education agreed to transfer a portion of the schoolyard at Intermediate School 291 so a double-company firehouse could be properly constructed.

The City’s Department of Design and Construction oversaw the project in conjunction with the FDNY’s Bureau of Technology and Support Services. During construction, the two companies were relocated to the quarters of Engine Company 222 on Ralph Avenue in Brooklyn. The companies returned to their firehouse earlier this month.

Press Contact: Francis X. Gribbon & Tony Sclafani, (FDNY) (718) 999-2056

http://www.nyc.gov/fdny