A volunteer fire chief in the Midwest is in the process of building a new fire station. When it started several months ago, he shared, “It’s a basic station design for what we need.”
However, the chief texted two weeks ago that the station was “$1 million over budget!” We spoke and he said the shell of the building was up but had no windows and no overhead doors.
He rattled off the problems: the construction firm quit for inability to hire trained employees; the steel needed for the station increased $50,000 over the budget; overhead glass-doors were now $27,500 each and 10 (front and back) were needed, and on, and on. “We can’t find anyone to help us,” the chief said.
In 2021, fire departments were again faced with new challenges and responsibilities. The pandemic hit the U.S. on so many levels and severely overwhelmed fire departments and emergency medical services. In addition, civil unrest, increasing wildfires, and Mother Nature’s devastation across the country were relentless.
As the new year begins, what does 2022 or 2025 or even 2030 hold for U.S. emergency services? Who knows, really. We hope the proposed presentations for the 2022 Station Design Conference offer some insights on what lies ahead.
This year’s Station Design Conference presentations will be based on requests from last year’s conference attendees. The conference will have four tracks; two tracks on new or renovated fire stations/headquarters buildings; one track for law enforcement facilities; and one track—the newest track—for co-located fire/police, emergency operations centers (EOCs) and EMS facilities.
The goal of the conference is to offer design-and-build of new or renovated fire and public safety facilities, but also to preview the trends and innovations for the future of your facility. The 2022 conference includes updates on locating fire/EMS stations near rising sea levels or potential wildfires and how to prepare and reinforce for major natural disasters.
More than 86 presentation proposals were submitted for the 2022 Station Design Conference by architectural firms, and fire and law enforcement officials experienced in designing fire, EMS, law enforcement and shared public safety facilities. Presentations scheduled include:
- How to handle push back from the community and costs for a new facility.
- Electric vehicles – the impact on fire departments/EMS and equipment in your station.
- Prototypes – design-standardization can ensure consistency and equity throughout your stations, save money, and enhance efficiency for all your stations and crew members.
- Emergency Operation Centers – In a recent hurricane in the south, the police chief couldn’t locate or communicate with the fire chief. Whether a metro city or local county, how do you begin planning a central communications center or a back-up location?
- Shared Facilities – Besides significant cost savings, the trend continues to co-locate fire, law enforcement, EOCs, and/or municipal facilities. One side benefit is improved communication among the public safety personnel.
- EMS – how does centralizing EMS operations enhance the community services?
- Technology – drones and robots. What other technology will be available to fire and EMS departments?
- Heightened security – for fire and law professionals, but also civilian employees.
Increased cancer-causing contaminants and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) impacts fire and police departments across the nation and around the world. Can you design your new facility to reduce exposure to cancer and PTSD? Based on the latest research and the design elements in new medical facilities to reduce stress can also be applied to emergency response facilities. Case studies of improved mental health designs in fire and law enforcement facilities will be presented at the May conference. Ongoing research on first responders’ mental health provides more insights on culture change to help reduce behavioral health and PTSD.
The decrease in fire department volunteers is having a major impact on new rural fire stations. It is essential for volunteer departments to consider future growth and include sleeping areas, unisex washrooms and training opportunities in new facilities.
With more resilient exterior and interior construction materials, architectural firms predict new facilities will last 50-75 years. Are you prepared to design your department’s new facility to last half-a-century or more? The 2022 Station Design Conference is focused on offering the opportunity to learn how to proceed on your project, network with your peers and with others experienced in designing, building and supporting new public safety facilities. We offer a unique conference for your unique project.
Janet A. Wilmoth | Special Projects Director
Janet Wilmoth grew up in a family of firefighters in a suburb of Chicago. Wilmoth, who is owner of Wilmoth Associates, worked with Fire Chief magazine for 27 years until it closed in 2013. She currently is the project director for Firehouse, overseeing the Station Design Conference.
