Warming our souls, buildings and water

1997
Originally published by Fairchild Connection (Fairchild AFB, WA)

With the soon approaching chill of winter, many base residents and workers routinely take for granted the warm buildings and endless supply of hot water that fills our on-base homes and work places. Surely these comforts would be missed if they weren't available, but they are thanks to the folks who operate and maintain the 92nd Civil Engineer Squadron steam plant.

In 1943 the facility was constructed with the first three boiler engines installed. The fourth was installed in 1958. The three original boilers are positive draft pressurized, believed to the the only ones of their kind on a Department of Defense or Air Force installation.

"In other words, if you open the doors while they're running at high speed, the flames have a tendency to jump out at you," said Bob Isbelle, shift supervisor at the plant.

To get an idea about how much power this plant generates, it produces 450,000 pounds of steam per hour and supplies steam for hot water to such places as dormitories and office buildings.

The steam is generated at about 160 pounds per square inch. Steam is also used by the Warrior and Survival dining facilities in meal preparations.

Heat, which is measured in British thermal units, is produced by the boilers at a rate of about 130 to 140 BTU's per hour according to Isbelle. The plant also uses about 80,000 cubic feet of gas per hour and during the winter's peak, uses up to 150,000 cubic feet per hour.

The plant once ran on coal supplies, but today the primary source is natural gas.

"In 1983, we tried to re-establish coal here with a environmental package using a spray-dray absorber," Isbelle said. "We haven't burned coal in ten years--it's obsolete now."

"We had equipment that was supposed to be able to handle it," said John Rowicki, boiler operator on the attempted return to coal in the mid-1980s. "But we were glad to get rid of coal--it was messy and hard to clean up."

The most important aspect of the plant is that it was designed to run on its own power. "If the base lost power here, we would still be able to run," Isbelle said. "We have steam-driven pumps and fans we can use in case of an emergency, and we wouldn't be bothered a bit.

"We're considered essential personnel, and we stand alone," said Isbelle, noting that the plant is a 24-hour job each day and manned by three shifts of three to four people. "But we've got a pretty good team."

"Our main function is to keep the base warm, and heat buildings with hot water, said Rowicki. "To put it this way, if this plant goes down, the buildings on this base go cold and there's no hot water. Who wants to take a cold shower?"