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Lined up with their backs to the sun, helmets on, the firefighters of the Service territorial d'incendie et de secours stand to attention. On this Friday, January 10, they are undergoing another of the trials and tribulations inherent in their already demanding job: that of an official ceremony, during which the "officials" make speech after speech in the shade. But this one has a very special flavour. It's the official inauguration of their new fire station in Saint-Jean. This brand-new structure required an investment of almost thirteen million euros by the local authorities. In particular, the installation of modern and, in some cases, innovative equipment and systems.
For example, the Stis barracks will operate, in part, with an internal energy network. In 2017, during the competition launched to distinguish the most attractive projects, innovative proposals were presented to the Collectivité's departments. One of these was from the DAC Antilles engineering firm, which convinced the governing body at the time to entrust it with the project, which included electricity, plumbing, air conditioning, photovoltaics and electric vehicle charging stations. Philippe Bleuzé, Managing Director of DAC Antilles, who was present at the official ceremony in Saint-Barth, explains how the barracks' equipment works.
70 kilowatt-peak
The main innovation, not necessarily obvious at first glance, is the installation of photovoltaic panels on a large part of the building's roof. These can produce 70 kilowatt-peak, the equivalent of 70,000 watts. All this for a budget of just over 200,000 euros. Today, it covers 50% of the building's electricity needs over the year," explains Philippe Bleuzé. At half past noon, the photovoltaic collectors provide all the electricity. This rises to 100% during the day. Of course, at 5 p.m. there's no more sun and the grid takes over. This explains the 50% average over the year. "A self-generation and supply capacity that partly solves one of the difficulties encountered by EDF in Saint-Barthélemy: the midday consumption peak. "Solving part of the problem isn't bad enough," smiles Philippe Bleuzé.
This system, which was innovative to say the least in 2017, is gradually winning over structures on the island. "More and more hotels are being equipped," notes Rudi Laplace, territorial councillor and president of Lapelec. "It's an ideal solution for tertiary sector buildings, since they only consume energy during the day," he continues. Of course, the situation is a little different for housing, for example, since the need for energy in the home is felt more in the evening than during the day.
At the Stis barracks, there are no storage batteries. "It's the ideal site to operate without storage, like the airport or the hospital," assures Philippe Bleuzé. On housing, we'll put in storage, but on large tourist villas with swimming pools, we could be a bit clever and not put in storage at all. By running the pool pumps during the day, for example. Finally, photovoltaics is one of the answers to the island's energy worries. It's not the answer, but it's one component of the possible answers. "
Moreover, one of the attractions of such equipment is to subtract solar kilowatt hours from fuel kilowatt hours. From an energy and environmental point of view, the island has everything to gain. "We need to move towards these solutions," insists the director of DAC Antilles. The firefighters and Stis personnel are unlikely to contradict him.
A fire station "designed for the next fifty years
The JSB previously devoted an article to a detailed presentation of the new fire station (JSB 1594). Nevertheless, it's worth recalling the full range of facilities on offer in the structure, which was financed by the Collectivité territoriale to the tune of almost thirteen million euros. This budget was suddenly increased to fifteen million on the day of the inauguration, without further explanation. In addition, the Collectivité provides an annual operating budget of two million euros.
The 54 firefighters (including 17 professionals) and Stis personnel are now housed in buildings that house the territorial operations center (COT), a two-storey training tower, a call center and a fire brigade. a two-storey training tower, a modern call center with fully computerized alert system, a decontamination room, a live fire simulator, a new truck, a boat for the sea rescue unit rescue unit, spacious changing rooms, an on-call room, a refectory, offices dedicated to the various departments (health subdirectorate, management division, communications, etc.), accommodation rooms for night guardsA central pharmacy, a hangar for ambulances and a room for processing and cleaning uniforms.
For the record, the Saint-Barthélemy Stis became autonomous from the Guadeloupe Departmental Fire and Rescue Service eight years ago.
