Station Design Awards: From Fire Stations to Emergency Response Facilities
The evolution of North American fire departments can be seen in the changes to the fire stations they build. Fifty years ago, fire stations could be easily distinguished by either career or volunteer departments. Career fire stations had apparatus bays, offices and living/sleeping areas. Volunteer fire stations provided storage for apparatus, equipment and a common area for meetings, training or social events.
However, over the years, as cities and communities grew, so did the fire department’s need for more skills, training and equipment. Increased calls for emergency medical services required trained emergency medical technicians and an ambulance. Eventually, paramedics with advanced life support ambulances and sophisticated equipment moved in. Increasing traffic on highways, interstates and rail systems brought hazardous materials and chemical incidents into cities and to rural communities. Rescues were no longer limited to house or car fires; firefighters faced confined space, underground, water and overhead incidents requiring special equipment and advanced rescue training.
While manmade disasters—Oklahoma City, World Trade Center, the Pentagon—hit the bigger cities, natural disasters—hurricanes, tornadoes, mega-snowstorms—struck communities large and small. Disaster planning forced fire departments to anticipate potential problems in their communities and reach out to educate citizens in disaster preparedness and the need for self-sufficiency.
As the scope of fire department responsibilities grew, so did the need to incorporate space in fire stations for larger apparatus, specialty vehicles, rescue equipment and stockpile supplies. Whether budget restricted travel to academies or the demand for more training, fire station mezzanines, basements and parking areas were designed for onsite training opportunities.
In the past 10 to 15 years, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in combination departments as retention declined and volunteer departments added full-time personnel to cover low response times. Gender-diversity raised awareness of sleeping areas, lavatories and showering needs. Research on firefighter health has proved departments must address air quality in apparatus bays, the frequency of cleaning turnout gear and limiting carcinogen exposure particularly in living areas of fire stations. Unfortunately, personal security has also become an issue and protecting emergency personnel in fire stations and on response has become necessary.
Firehouse’s November 2015 Station Design Awards showcase of new fire stations across North America is an example of how progressive fire departments have evolved to address the needs of their communities and department personnel.
We believe there are five significant trends in this year’s Station Design Award entries: fire sprinklers in fire stations; firefighter health and safety; security for first responders; designated evaluation rooms; and the green-appeal in a community.
Fire sprinklers in stations
According to the architects’ entry forms, every fire station entered in the 2015 Station Design Awards has a fire sprinkler system. With fire prevention efforts required by code or encouraging the use of industrial and residential fire sprinklers, installing a fire sprinkler in a fire station is setting the example in their community and practicing what they preach.
Fire station fires make headlines because it’s ironic and embarrassing. This year began with reports of fire station fires in Westlake, TX, and Harrietsfield, Nova Scotia. It is estimated that approximately 100 fire stations burn annually in the U.S. A recent article from the United Kingdom reported over 300 fire stations have burned in the past five years.
Firefighter health and safety
As reports of cancer in firefighters continues to increase, fire departments are researching ways to limit personnel’s exposure to carcinogens and toxins on scene and in fire stations.
Re-locating turnout gear to a separate room off the apparatus bay and with a separate air quality system is the current suggested method to contain the carcinogens and off-gassing from worn turnout gear. Prohibiting gear from the living and sleeping areas is also integrated into many of the stations entered in this year’s awards program.
The Brambleton, VA, Public Safety Center was designed so all dirty work areas—workshops, decontamination area, hose storage and PPE storage areas—are located away from living quarters. The PPE storage includes a self-contained HVAC system that directs cool supply air up and through the gear and is exhausted through a heat exchanger.
During the 2015 Station Design Conference in Baltimore, Paul Erickson, LeMay Erickson Willcox Architects, explained the challenges to designing a safe, healthy environment in a fire station: “Isolate, capture and remove carcinogens,” he said.
Erickson described a fire station as having three zones: Red (Hot—areas exposed to carcinogens); Yellow (Transition—allows for movement between Hot and Cold zones) and Green (Cold—living or working spaces that allow for extended occupancy).
In addition, physical fitness equipment is no longer relegated to spare space on apparatus floors as it was in the past. For several years, every new fire station has had a designated physical fitness room for machines, weight training equipment, and floor space for core-body workouts.
Personal security for first responders
Most new stations include a key code system to limit public access to department personnel’s living areas, as well as increased use of security cameras in and on fire stations. Among the many features of the USC Fire Station 15, Los Angeles, CA, is secured parking for firefighters’ vehicles.
According to an article in the Florida Times-Union, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has recommended that firefighters and EMS personnel accompany law enforcement to active shooter situations. However, questions of research, training and funding of bulletproof vests or shields have yet to be answered—along with storage requirements.
Good neighbors
Many of the volunteer/combination entries in this year’s Station Awards program were specifically designed to fit into local neighborhoods with either natural design elements or landscape.
Reclaimed timber was used in Danville, VA, Fire Station #1, as well as reclaimed brick for decorative purposes. The Qualicum Beach Firehall, British Columbia, was designed to incorporate many sustainable initiatives including British Columbia’s “Wood First Policy” for roof and floor structures. In addition, the firehall was able to achieve a 72 percent energy reduction with a 90-panel photovoltaic field.
An old South Carolina hospital was demolished for the new public safety facility in Conway. The site contained a large number of old-growth, live oak trees and the new facility was designed around the trees to preserve the natural beauty of the site. The facility was also designed to withstand 130-plus mph winds, with impact-resistant glazing and hardened exterior walls.
Eye to the future
The goal of the Station Design Awards is to encourage and identify the public safety facilities designed and constructed as examples of best meeting the needs and responsibilities of an agency, the safety of personnel and the community which it serves. The annual collection of fire stations and facilities also serves to educate readers on how other departments are facing their challenges, with an eye to the future.
Looking ahead, we have identified two trends to consider: in-station evaluation rooms and the awareness of the need to remove contaminants.
An in-station evaluation room
With changes in EMS delivery and the introduction of Mobile Integrative Healthcare, a number of departments are creating an assessment area in fire stations specifically for the public. Houston Fire/EMS Station 84 has a designated evaluation room adjacent to the public lobby for walk-up visitors to the station requiring EMS attention.
Heightened awareness of removing contaminants
Toilet/shower off the apparatus bays for decontamination after incidents of prolonged exposure. Recommended showering after-shift and before going home. Two laundry areas; a laundry area with commercial-size machines for turnout gear near the apparatus bay and a second room, near the living area, with residential machines for washing stationwear and bedding. Another option—Columbus, OH, currently offers an overnight pick-up, clean/repair and drop-off of turnout gear.
Aside from the basics of fire, rescue and EMS, every fire department has different service requirements and demands in their community. Consequently, each fire station or facility must identify the current needs and assess future growth to provide for apparatus, equipment and supplies to support the services required. Variations to the basics will vary by department, regional hazards and community responsibilities.
Some critics will cry “Taj Mahal” at a new fire station and argue at the vast expanse, elaborate designs and cost of new fire stations. These new facilities, however, are built to last 50 to 75 years, require less maintenance, are more sustainable and are designed to adapt and support the future responsibilities that will fall to the local fire departments.
The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum for a dead princess; a fire station is a multi-purpose facility designed to efficiently and effectively help provide trained personnel to protect and respond to the needs of the community and neighbors it serves. There is no comparison.
JANET WILMOTH grew up in a family of firefighters in a suburb of Chicago. Wilmoth, owner of Wilmoth Associates, worked with Fire Chief magazine for 27 years until it closed in 2013. She is currently a Project Director for Firehouse/SouthComm. Wilmoth currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Fire Emergency Manufacturers & Services Association and lives in Lisle, IL.
