Is the Dixon Fire Department Built on a Sinkhole?

By Sarah Herrera
Dixon Patch Correspondent

A forensic investigation has started at the Dixon Fire Department to determine if the building is sitting on a large sinkhole.

On Jan. 25, the City Council approved a measure to allow the city manager to use the consulting services of K.C. Engineering Company, of Vacaville, for an amount not to exceed $14,970 to determine what is causing damage to the building.

The Dixon Fire Department building was constructed 12 years ago by Broward Builders and the problem seems to have existed on-and-off for the past six or seven years, according to Fire Chief Aaron McAlister.

A shifting pillar that periodically blocks the entrance to the city’s emergency command center is a major concern for the department. Blocking access to this room also affects its classroom use by the Solano Community College Fire Academy. Tiles whose positions have changed over time are also noted by black Sharpie pen markings in the building’s hallways.

Analyzing the problem is taking place in two phases. The first phase of the forensic study is already underway. This includes reviewing the building’s floor plans and conducting floor level studies. In the second phase, which hasn’t started yet, holes will be drilled into the ground for soil samples, to help engineers determine if there is water underneath the building, McAlister said. A representative from K.C. Engineering Company was unavailable for comment.

According to McAlister, In the “worst-case scenario we have a sinkhole; best-case scenario, we are able to shore things up a little bit and stop the movement without a whole lot of expense.”

McAlister said there is nothing out of the ordinary when you look at the building’s water bills. The water system has been tested and there isn’t a running meter or anything that indicates there is a leak. However, there could be water from another underground source.

“It’s possible that there were creeks in the area, that ran through the area years and years ago before the town was developed,” McAlister said.

There are other indicators that the damage is from a water source. Four trees were planted on the side of the building where the shifting pillar is located. The two trees in front of the pillar grew to almost twice the size of the others; then were removed three months ago in an attempt to isolate the problem, said McAlister. 

The pavement in the area where the trees were once planted has also shifted and cracked. Some of the walls inside the building and near the pillar are also cracked.

Ironically, the shifting pillar in question was replaced once before, under a public contracting code that requires a contractor to fix any problem for free so long as the problem occurs within 10 years of building construction. However, the replacement turned out to be only a temporary fix.

“Until we know what the (underlying) problem is,” City Engineer Royce Cunningham said at the City Council meeting in late January, “it’s all a shot in the dark.”