The Buskirk Fire Safety Project COMPLETED!
Fire Safety
Inspection:
Completed
We have successfully passed our inspections for fire safety and for licensing.
We are expecting to receive our approved license from Community Care Licensing any day now!
Then we will be scheduling our first day of programming as quickly as we can!
Licensing
Inspection:
Completed
OUR GOALS
This project will provide a home for on-site day programs for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in Pleasant Hill and the surrounding communities. It will also support community-based programs in the areas around Pleasant Hill and Danville.
Our goals are to:
Return safely to in-person services in Pleasant Hill.
Establish a new facility that meets the highest fire safety standards and that will protect the people that we serve in case of an emergency.
Prepare a facility that is well-suited to the variety of activities our participants need throughout the day — and one that will support both on-site and community-based services.
Create an enduring focal point of services in this area that will become a comfortable, familiar environment for the men and women we serve for years to come.
THE BUSKIRK BUILDING
Our new program location is at 3490 Buskirk Avenue and features:
a spacious common area and a large room for dining and activities
a large glass-walled conference room and offices that are terrific spaces for classrooms, special projects rooms, and sensory spaces
an enclosed back area with paved space for picnics and activities and three patios surrounded by gardening space
an upper floor with office space for our staff and a participant lounge area
The new facility is in a beautiful location, close to stores, restaurants, parks, and other fun places to visit, with easy access to highway 680 and only a mile from the Pleasant Hill BART station.
This building is especially well-suited to our programs, with just the right combination of small comfortable spaces for small groups and large open areas for shared activities. Once open, we expect this facility to become a welcoming new home to the people we support and a focal point of our services in this community for years to come.
THE CHALLENGE: COMPLETED
In 2021, we began remodeling our new building to suit our needs, including adding new restrooms and modifying the existing ones. However, we discovered that this site would need a far more extensive fire suppression system than expected.
Over the last two years, we worked with the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District on a massive fire safety project that included:
Drafting and submitting architectural plans and fire safety designs.
Installing sprinkler heads throughout the facility and the pipes and fire risers to support them.
Installing a dedicated water line and fire department connection to service the sprinkler system.
Replacing the external doors so that they open outward instead of inward.
Renovating the space to create an additional fire escape.
Making extensive repairs to walls and ceilings after the installation of the items above.
This was a huge challenge, but we were eager to meet the fire safety codes for our area and to make sure we have done everything we can to make this the safest building possible.
Because this is a program for individuals and their families who have counted on our services for years, we were fully committed to opening this facility as quickly as we could.
But because this is a project to safeguard the things that matter most to us as an organization — the people we serve and our team who serves them — we were also fully committed to securing their safety without compromise.
These backflow preventer valves mark the new water line installed at our Buskirk program dedicated exclusively to the new sprinkler system.
The patio and garden area needed significant care and recovery after so long without maintenance.
The patio, garden, and picnic areas after maintenance. Picnic tables are still to come at the far end and benches will be installed on the posts on the patios for quiet reflection.
Finished So Far:
architectural review of the facility
design for the fire sprinkler system and the underground fire feed
installation of a new water main and pumping station
tenant improvement plans approved by the Fire Protection District
manufacture of the parts that make up our system
installed the sprinkler system in our building
pre-installation inspection of pipes
added an additional fire exit
added emergency lights and signage
replaced most of the doors so that they open outward instead of inward
installed the sprinkler system in our building
added a security system to the building
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Dec. 02
Open House on Dec. 03
secured additional building permits
inspection and testing of the sprinkler system
inspection and testing of the underground pump
repaired walls, ceilings, and floors affected by the installation
prepared and submitted our licensing application
passed final inspection of our sprinkler system
passed final inspection of our alarm system
passed building inspection for licensing
PROGRESS TO DATE
In Progress:
approval of the whole building by Community Care Licensing
moving in and setting up our furniture and equipment
Coming Up:
receiving our license
First Day of Program
LATEST UPDATES
August 03, 2023 — We got our license!
It's here! Our license for our new location in Pleasant Hill arrived in the mail last week, and we are so excited that it is officially here.
July 21, 2023 — We passed our inspections!
On June 28, we passed our final fire inspection for the building and its safety systems.
Just recently, the Community Care Licensing Division sent a licensing program analyst for an unannounced “pre-inspection.” Our team had done such a great job of keeping the building ready, that she went ahead with the full inspection… And we passed!
Now our paperwork is in Sacramento, and we expect to receive our license any day now! Then we’ll be scheduling our first day of programming in the new building as soon as we can!
We can’t wait to see our new building in action!
July 17, 2023 — Last week, we finished landscaping the front of the building while we’re waiting for licensing from the state.
Our front lawn was destroyed by laying underground pipes and conduit and adding the access ramp. Our new landscaping is more drought-friendly and coming along great. And the beautiful tree in front of our building survived all the work going on around it!
We’ve also added acoustic panels to the common area inside to absorb echoes and make the room feel more quiet and cozy. We’ve also added more art on the wall to make it feel more like home.
April 26, 2023 — This week, we passed our inspections for the sprinkler system and the alarm system.
Community Care Licensing is still processing our paperwork and we have a licensing inspection and fire inspection for licensing still ahead.
March 31, 2023 — Last week, we finished construction of the wheelchair access ramp outside our building.
This week we finished the reconstruction of our newest bathroom which is now compliant with the latest update to ADA requirements.
We’ve also put some new art on the wall to make it feel more like home.
And this morning, we mailed in the complete application package to update our licensing for the new building!
March 17, 2023 — With the sun shining today, work is continuing on our wheelchair access ramp. Not only will it provide an accessible path to our front door, but it will keep pedestrians out of the driveway as well.
And it still leaves us plenty of room for growing greenery!
March 15, 2023 — The recent windstorms have knocked out power in Pleasant Hill around the building on Buskirk Avenue. This has paused progress on the bathroom for a day or two, but the wheelchair access is moving forward in the meantime.
We had some limbs blown off the trees in front of the Pleasant Hill location during the storm yesterday. But we got off pretty lucky. One large tree fell in the parking lot behind us!
March 08, 2023 — We expected our January inspection to be our last hurdle… but we discovered that there’s still more to do to get our Buskirk location cleared to open. Fortunately, we’ve connected with some great people at the Pleasant Hill Building Division who are helping us get everything worked out.
The bathroom built for us by the previous tenant was built to old ADA specifications. Under the current guidelines, it needs to be eight inches longer with some other changes as well. Our architect drew new plans, we got a new building permit, and we’re rebuilding the room this week!
We’re also working to add dedicated wheelchair access from the sidewalk to the door through the current landscaping. We are hopeful that we can accomplish this without harming the beautiful tree in front of the property.
This last delay has been frustrating for all of us, but we’re glad to be providing the best space that we can for the people we serve!
These are “before” pictures of our bathroom. We will move the wall eight inches closer to the main activities area, move the door around the corner to be opposite the exit, and reset the fixtures to meet the newest ADA requirements.
Our wheelchair access will connect the sidewalk to the front door, providing a dedicated approach to anyone coming to the program by public transportation.
December 03, 2022 — We had a terrific ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday and an open-house event on Saturday! Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate with us and be part of our special day! The work still isn’t finished, but it was a great day to celebrate the end of construction, and to share it with others before the holiday season got too busy!
November 07, 2022 — The fire sprinklers are installed, and connected to the incoming water supply. The trench to the building (pictured below) will stay open until all the inspections are complete. The sprinklers are also connected to an alarm monitoring service and the big, loud bells out in front of the building!
We have submitted revised drawings of the system — including on-the-spot adjustments made during installation — and we still have additional inspections to complete with the fire marshals.
We also have replaced the fluorescent lighting installations with recessed lighting… not just because it looks better, but because it lets the water spray everywhere in an emergency.
And we just finished replacing old carpeting in the main activity area with brand new flooring!
Things are getting closer every day!
October 11, 2022 — We’ve completed the fire riser at Buskirk. This is the series of pipes that connects to the water supply and supplies water at pressure to the sprinkler system.
Next, it will have to pass testing and inspections before we can lay underground piping to connect it to the dedicated water line.
We’ve also added emergency alarm pulls and in-ceiling lighting throughout the building to keep in line with fire codes. We’ve started the work of patching and texturing the ceilings as well.
It’s exciting to see the pieces coming together!
September 22, 2022 — Now that the piping is run, sprinkler heads are blooming overhead all across the building. The kitchen and activities areas are complete, and the upstairs offices are nearly finished, with the common area and classrooms close behind.
We’ve also added emergency exit signs and emergency lights so that if the worst should happen everyone can find their way to safety.
September 06, 2022 — Pipes are going up throughout the building, including through the attic crawlspaces and over and under the wooden exterior balcony.
The first of our sprinkler heads are in place in the kitchen and dining and activity area. When the project is complete there will be 139 sprinkler heads protecting the entire structure.
We also finished removing a storage closet and installing an additional emergency exit in the dining and activity and have started work on installing the control panel that coordinates all the actions of our sprinkler system!
August 25, 2022 — Our pipes were delivered earlier this month. The Fire Protection District inspected them, and they are being installed in the building now!
We also finished remaking the outer doors into fire exits. Now they open outward and they are equipped with push bar releases to make them quicker and easier to open in an emergency.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
This project is a big financial challenge for our organization. We are looking for partners who will join us in providing a safe and welcoming home for our services in Pleasant Hill. With their help, we will continue to…
provide quality day programs for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities
help the people we serve grow in dignity and independence
support each individual as they pursue the goals and dreams that matter most to them
If you would like to support our work to complete this project and continue our mission in Pleasant Hill, click the button below to contribute to our Giving Tuesday campaign.
Or visit our Donate page to find out about other ways you can support RES Success.
Rehabilitation and Employment Services of the East Bay, dba RES Success, is a nonprofit charitable organization (EIN: 94-3185529). All contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law.