The Station was staffed until
1945 when it was closed. It
then reopened in 1960 and
remained active until 1994
when it closed again for
minor renovations.
The fire station reopened in
2007, however for over 40
years the two upper floors of
the fire station have remained
unoccupied and had been
subjected to squatters, theft,
water damage, fire damage
and vermin.
In 2013, Fire and Rescue
NSW commissioned Group
GSA to refurbish and extend
the operational Fire Station
and derelict upper floors to
improve conditions for the fire
fighters and to provide office
accommodation for Fire and
Rescue NSW staff as part of
their relocation program from
their current head office in
Elizabeth Street, Sydney.
Major works included
upgrading the buildings
structural integrity to
a Category 4 seismic
stabilisation. This was
achieved with a meticulous
design by Birzulis and
construction by MAXBuild
installing new steel portal
frames to shore up and protect
the existing heritage envelope
including the prominent bell
tower on the corner of Pyrmont
and Gipps Streets.
Twenty-four cubic metres of
concrete was used to form
1.5 metre deep footings which
extended down in to existing
bedrock. This formed the
foundations for tonnes of
structural steel that protect
the building from lateral
movement.
The portal frames span two
floors and tie to reinforced joist
flooring which is braced to the
50 - www.refurbandrestore.co.uk