Page 41 - THE FIRE STATION

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COMPETITION TIMELINE
Giving the Charleroi fire brigade the lead role in the Hainaut-Est
Zone, the last reform acted as a trigger to find a solution to the
dramatic state of the city’s firefighting facilities, scattered through- difficulties fire engines and other emergency vehicles would have
out the city in often unsuitable and run-down locations.
Grasping this opportunity to completely upgrade its facilities, the
City of Charleroi decided to hold a competition for the construction
of its new fire station.
For the first time in its history, the Charleroi fire brigade would be
getting a purpose-built building meeting its specific needs.
On 24 April 2008, the Walloon Government approved the investment
programme providing for the alternative funding of certain public
buildings, including €7 million for a new fire station in Charleroi 1.
In a memorandum dated 19 April 2007, the Walloon Government
had set forth the priorities it wanted to have respected in the
tenders, i.e. the realisation of reference projects, fully adapted
to requirements, energy-efficient and with 100% accessibility.
On 28 September 2009, the City of Charleroi decided to issue a
tender for the design, execution, financing and maintenance of
a fire station for an estimated value of €20 million on the Rue
de laTombe site in Marcinelle 2.
The following criteria were defined for deciding which bidder
would be awarded the contract:
– Overall project cost: 40%
– Quality of the proposed design: 35%
– Quality of the proposed SLA (Service Level Agreement): 10%
–Timeframe: 10%
– Project management quality: 5%
The tender was issued on 28 October 2009 under no. 2009/S
208-298362 3. Further tender documents included:
– Addendum No. 1 to the specifications (Conc-Cons-Fin-SRI/2009),
approved on 18 December 2009, resulting in an additional delay 4 ;
– a modification to the tender conditions related to the setting of
a new deadline for bids (1 July 2010), approved on 26 April 20105 ;
– a further postponement of the date for opening bids (now
8 September 2010), and Addendum No. 2 to the specifications,
approved on 14 June 2010 6.
Examining the only project deemed to be in line with the tender
conditions, the selection panel complained of the manoeuvring
due to the insufficient space planned.The panel considered that
the modifications required to improve this situation would lead
to design and architectural changes.
On the basis of these considerations, the awarding body in
Charleroi decided on 31 May 2011 not to award the contract
and to launch a new tender 7.
“The large garage can accommodate all firefighting, rescue, support
and command vehicles ... One or more folding doors make up the
main IN entrance.The OUT exit is made up of several folding doors.
The entrance to and exit from the vehicle parking garage must be
located on different sides of the garage, preferably on opposite
sides. Each vehicle must have its own dedicated parking space,
with appropriate floor markings (coloured, embossed, ...).
The parking spaces must be designed in such a way that vehicle
manoeuvring is kept to a minimum, without any need to reverse.” 8
The fire brigade thus rewrote the specifications, insisting on its
own specific requirements, in particular with regard to the central
garage with its key functions.
On 29 August 2011, the City of Charleroi decided to launch a
new tender taking account of the new specifications issued
by the fire brigades 9.
Extended on 19 December 2011 by Paul Furlanto, the Region’s
Minister for Local Authorities, the new 30 June 2012 deadline
allowed the Charleroi awarding body to agree in principle to
award a public works contract via a restricted EU-wide tender 10.
Eight applications were submitted by the official submission dead-
line of 10:00 on 9 April 2012. Once their admissibility had been
checked, five candidates were selected. Four of these submitted
their bids at 10:00 on 22 August 2012 11.
I took part in the first tender. My draft was not selected on admin-
istrative grounds. A fundamental condition found its way into the
new specifications. Vehicles should not have to manoeuvre in the
main garage! I immediately drew a circle which was to become
the guiding design principle of the new draft.” 12