Fire Station Garage Made From Shipping Containers

Fire Station Garage Made From Shipping Containers BUILDINGS Miscellaneous We were interested when FARM SHOW reader Percival Mark Lowell Jr told us his local fire department was using shipping containers as a fire station garage He and his wife Marita lived in Tonopah Arizona when a fire station was approved for the community The Lowells donated one of their commercial acres to build the fire station on anticipating it would take about half a year to build Meanwhile they already had fire trucks that needed to be stored under cover according to the insurance policy Lowell had one container and had seen buildings made with them So another 40-ft shipping container was purchased and leveled up 32 ft from the first container Because it was considered “portable” no permits were required to build the temporary fire station garage A contractor installed a steel roof over the containers and built a partial back wall “It stopped about 4 ft above the ground and we put in a loose plywood panel ” Lowell says adding the front was left open Winds with speeds up to 120 mph are common in the area so the design allowed wind to blow through and not damage the building Besides serving as side walls for the buildings the shipping containers provided storage for supplies and equipment Fortunately the structure proved to be very sound “We figured the new permanent fire station would take a maximum of 6 months to build but it took 2 1/2 years ” Lowell says The shipping container building was still in good condition after the fire department moved into its new buildings Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Percival Mark Lowell Jr 1180 Milton Mills Rd Acton Maine 04001 ph 207 636-3216

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