Fire Station Design

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, state and local governments in the U.S. spend around $2 billion each year on the construction of fire stations, a number that is climbing. As municipalities and counties face stricter budgets and do what they can to avoid raising taxes, designing and building new fire stations becomes increasingly difficult. What are these government agencies considering? New approaches to fire station design.

One way they are combatting this increased pressure is to involve fire services in the processes of fire station design and budget alignment. Fire department personnel are providing innovative new ways to consider fire station design. A second way is to provide shared spaces, whether it joins with a police force or another first responder service. Hasenstab Architects was privileged to work with the local firehouse staff to design the Akron Fire Station No. 2 with this new eye to working with those in the trenches.

The new, 14,455 square-foot Fire Station No. 2 replaced the original fire station on the same site. The two-story fire station consists of an upper level, which houses three full-length apparatus bays with support spaces for three shifts of personnel. A walk-out lower level provides space for a satellite office for the Akron Police Department. The new facility also includes living quarters for firefighters and medics, a training room, and equipment decontamination facilities.