The fire station is where firefighters spend the majority of their work or volunteer life but, in reality, it’s more than just that; it’s a home away from home. As such, more and more fire service personnel are taking an active role in fire station design to ensure their stations are equipped with everything they need, from appropriately sized apparatus bays to efficient laundry facilities.

Countless details are involved in designing a fire station that meets the needs of its present-day residents and also anticipates the needs of those who will live there 30 years later. But let’s face it: Most firefighters don’t have the design expertise of architects, and most architects don’t have an intimate understanding of what makes a fire station work. Fortunately, the Fire Industry Equipment Research Organization’s (F.I.E.R.O.) Fire Station Design Symposium offers an opportunity for these two groups to come together to share ideas and strategies related to station design.

Hosted by F.I.E.R.O. in partnership with FireRescue magazine, this year’s symposium was held in Charlotte, N.C., Oct. 5-7. Approximately 200 fire personnel, architects and exhibitors from 33 states and two Canadian provinces attended the fifth-annual symposium, which offered invaluable networking opportunities, a lively exhibit hall, a station-design awards program (see Station Design Awards to view the winning designs), tours of area stations and 20 information-packed classes. Robert Tutterow, F.I.E.R.O. vice president and the Charlotte (N.C.) health and safety officer, says the conference was a big success in helping educate both fire personnel and architects. “There’s so much to a fire station that not even architects understand-they’re part dormitory, part garage, part classroom, part training facility,” he says. “It’s all these things combined into one-lots of things that require special knowledge and expertise. That’s what we try to provide.” Let’s take a closer look at some of the most popular station-design topics addressed at the conference.

Health & Safety Issues

No doubt the most important issues to consider when designing your fire station are the health and safety of your firefighters. Stations should be designed to reduce the likelihood of slips and falls, vehicle accidents and exposure to infectious disease and exhaust.

Kevin Roche, assistant fire marshal of the Phoenix Fire Department, recommends departments use drive-through apparatus bays so engineers don’t have to back up the apparatus since people tend to crash more when backing up. He also suggests creating good sight lines for engineers by angling egress ramps to the right so their roadway view is unobstructed. Other recommendations: placing apparatus egress on a side street with major street access, including proper lighting around the station, and including bollards where necessary to protect fixed objects, such as fuel pumps.

Another hot topic related to health and safety is physical fitness. Including a physical fitness room in the station is a great idea; however, you must keep your firefighters safe while they’re exercising, especially considering most firefighter deaths at stations are cardiac-related. To address this issue, Roche advocates designing physical fitness rooms with large windows so people can see someone experiencing a cardiac episode. Another tip: Install a distress button for emergencies. For additional tips from Roche, see the sidebar “Health & Safety Tips for Station Design” at the end of this article.

One safety factor often overlooked when designing fire stations is PPE care. Kirk Owen, the assistant chief at the Plano (Texas) Fire Department, notes that on-site laundry facilities must remain separate from living quarters. “You don’t want to clean your PPE in the same area you clean your towels and sheets,” he notes. As for drying PPE, Owen recommends stations include a separate drying room where PPE can be hung on a rack and out of direct sunlight. “Sunlight is the worst because of the intensity, but all UV light, such as fluorescent light, degrades the fabric,” he says.

As for storage, PPE must be stored in a clean, dry and well-ventilated area where it won’t be exposed to sunlight or contaminants. Also, PPE must be stored in a dedicated area away from living quarters, perhaps incorporating one of the commercially available PPE storage units available. Further, Owen recommends providing more room than you think you’re going to need for PPE storage. “A locker right off the apparatus bay usually doesn’t do the trick,” he says. “Plus, if you run out of room, it’s going to end up hanging in the apparatus bay, where it may be exposed to sunlight.” Instead, he recommends storing PPE in a separate room off the apparatus bay. Tip: Include motion detectors in the storage room so lights turn off automatically.

Architect Selection

Selecting an architect is one of the most important elements of fire station design. You’re going to spend years working with a firm’s project team and, as such, it is imperative to find a team that sees eye to eye with you about the project’s budget, timeline and goals.

There are many ways to find qualified architects, says Ken Newell, an architect with Stewart-Cooper-Newell Architects in Gastonia, N.C. Newell recommends contacting your local American Institute of Architects (AIA) chapter for references and contacting other departments and municipalities with buildings you admire.

Once you’ve found multiple potential architects, it’s important to identify their capabilities, say architects Jim Duffy and Candice Wong of RRM Design Group in San Luis Obispo, Calif. They advise you to ask to see proposals, including examples of fire stations the firm has designed. “Fire station design is a specialty,” Duffy says, “so choose an architect with specific, not just related, experience.” Newell also recommends requesting references, a history of litigation and resume for the project team members. Find out if other departments enjoyed working with this firm and if they would hire the firm again.

Once you’re ready to interview, Newell advocates interviewing between one and five project teams. Teams should make a favorable first impression, and you should feel “chemistry” between the team and your members. Face-to-face interviews are especially important because they verify whether the project team can make a clear and concise presentation about the project, which will be important if and when the plans must be presented to the city council (or other authority) for review.

Newell suggests asking the following questions during an interview: How much information will the architect need from the department to design the facility? Who in the firm will work directly with us? What is the firm’s construction cost experience? What is the firm’s history of completing projects on schedule? How busy is the firm? Duffy adds, “A good architect will answer questions you did not ask.”

During your final selection process, base your decision on your personal confidence in the firm, and seek a balance among design ability, technical competence, cost and professional service. Duffy and Wong reiterate that you get what you pay for-a good, fast and cheap project is unrealistic. Instead, focus on establishing a clear program, a comprehensive budget and a realistic schedule-the makings of a quality project.

Designing Training Centers

Fire stations that incorporate training facilities are becoming increasingly popular across the country. Mark Shoemaker of Cole + Russell Architects in Cincinnati, Ohio, says integrating training facilities into stations increases staff efficiency and morale, reduces staff downtime and improves the department’s public image. “Off-site training is costly and puts the community at risk,” Shoemaker says. “Firefighters have to leave the station, taking them farther away from their response area.”

Shoemaker knows this topic well, as Cole + Russell is the pioneering firm behind the Training by Design concept. The concept began about seven years ago when the firm realized the many benefits of approaching fire station design more holistically, with training in mind at the outset, rather than as an afterthought.

First, when designing a station that integrates training facilities, complete a training needs assessment, Shoemaker says. What level of training do you need to provide your members? Your answer will make a huge impact on the design process.

Additionally, many building design considerations must be kept in mind when designing these facilities. “The biggest thing is probably the finishes,” Shoemaker says. “Design the floor, wall and roof surfaces for safety and durability.” He adds that you must reinforce and protect parapets, and design for water resistance where sprinkler and hose training may occur.

If it isn’t feasible to build training facilities directly into your station, you may need to design an off-site training facility. Off-site training facilities may include administration/classroom buildings; burn buildings; training towers for ladder, rappelling and search-and-rescue activities; and training props for confined-space rescue, roof ventilation, hazmat scenarios, etc.

Roger LeBoeuf of Elliot, LeBoeuf & Associates in Springfield, Va., says one of the most important steps in designing off-site training facilities is identifying the potential users-including other departments in the county and state-as early as possible so there’s enough space for training and classroom activities.

Funding for such facilities is often tight, making it even more important to identify potential users. “If you can identify other entities-such as law enforcement, EMS or outside departments-that want to use the facility, they may be able to help support the cost of the center,” LeBoeuf says. Such entities may pay usage fees, contribute to the construction costs or pay an annual maintenance fee-all ways to lessen the cost burden on your department.

LeBoeuf also underscores the importance of marketing the design as a means to improve the community: “Take a step back and talk beyond the bricks and mortar. Sell the vision that people are coming to the training center to better themselves to better serve the public.”

Developing a Design Manual

A particularly hot topic in station design is the development of design manuals, which can guide current and future employees through the station design process. A design manual is essentially a living document that changes as the department develops design guidelines related to the site location, hardware, fixtures, equipment, finishes, etc.

Leading the way in this is the Phoenix Fire Department, which first developed a basic design manual in 1999. Ken Leake, division chief in the field services section, and Jim Zwerg, an architect/project manager in the field services section, note that a design manual ideally provides for a functional and aesthetically pleasing station that’s within budget. Leake adds that design manuals act as an insurance policy for the department. “All too often, we sit in design meetings and talk about what we’d like to see for the station. But getting all those ideas incorporated into design documents sometimes doesn’t happen,” he says. “With a design manual, the architect and builder can refer back and see to make sure everything is accounted for and the work is being done correctly.”

But where do you start? “It doesn’t have to be too technical,” Leake says. “It’s as simple as asking people what works and what doesn’t and writing it down.” Leake adds that in Phoenix, members of the committees involved in station design attend local trade shows and architect association meetings and take field trips to manufacturers. If they see something they’d like to implement in future stations, they update the manual with drawings, specs, owners’ manuals, cut sheets and receipts.

Design manuals provide lots of information in one source, help avoid conflicts and eliminate the guesswork associated with station design. The only major problem: “It’s hard to compile all the information and keep it accurate,” Leake says.

Long-Term Investment

Fire stations are long-term investments and, as such, it’s crucial that the fire personnel and architects involved in design and construction take special care to address all possible issues, from the size of PPE storage rooms to the inclusion of training props. Tutterow hopes F.I.E.R.O.’s Fire Station Design Symposiums can help fire personnel and architects maneuver these processes, adding that this year’s symposium appeared to do just that. “Based on the feedback we’ve received, the underlying theme was that it was time and money well spent,” he says. “If you’re going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a facility that needs to last you decades, it’s probably worth a couple hundred dollars to learn about what you’re getting into.” Anthony Campigotto with Windsor (Ontario) Fire & Rescue Services agrees with the benefits of attending the show: “The entire symposium was just phenomenal. We’re on the verge of building a new station, and we’re going to implement many of the ideas we picked up at F.I.E.R.O.”

Health & Safety Tips for Station Design

Provided by Kevin Roche, F.I.E.R.O. Health & Safety presenter

• Apparatus bays should feature easy-to-clean, slip-resistant floors, and drains positioned under the apparatus.
• Avoid maintenance pits. “If you’re going to have them, make sure they’re gated or secured,” Roche says.
• Purchase stoves and ovens with automatic shutoffs.
• Sleeping areas should have a clear walking path and ample night lighting.
• Provide a secure, climate-controlled area for emergency medical supplies (drugs and medications).
• Include anti-bacterial hand pumps throughout the station to help prevent the spread of germs. “This is one of the best things you can do to prevent the spread of disease at your department,” Roche says.