San Francisco Floating Fire Boat Station 35

The station had to be resilient to major earthquakes, severe storms, and long-term sea level rise, all while providing a stable enough platform for firefighters living and working aboard during their shifts. Limiting float motion from wind and waves was critical to the crew's comfort and safety. The design also had to accommodate significant relative movement between the land, pier, access ramp, and float during storms and seismic events, requiring carefully engineered gaps, sliding and roller supports, and flexible utility connections throughout.

Liftech designed the landside pier, steel access ramp, steel float, and all associated piling. The pier piling was driven through the existing seawall embankment in front of the Embarcadero — a seawall that could shift toward the water in a large earthquake. To keep the pier and access ramp usable after a seismic event, Liftech designed the piling to deform plastically without buckling. The float was fabricated offsite and shipped to Treasure Island, where the building and utilities were added — requiring Liftech to design the float to accommodate future construction, including internal column splices and utility penetrations through the bulkheads.

Because firefighters eat, sleep, and work aboard Station 35 during their shifts, the float had to meet cruise liner comfort standards for motion and stability. To achieve this, Liftech developed a custom dampener system of reinforced and unreinforced rubber pads between steel plates, reducing float-pile impact by up to 90% and keeping the station stable in the conditions the Bay regularly delivers.

2023 ASCE-COPRI Project Excellence Award, Small Project Category