By James Zwerg

This article appears in the 2024 CRACKL Fire Station Design special issue. Order the limited-edition supplement now!

In the world of fire station design and construction – and I’m intentionally saying both in the same sentence – good design is fundamentally form following function. There are so many influences that drive the need for a fire department to go to the trouble of building a new station in their community, and frankly the rare opportunity to do so, that there is very little room for architects to be allowed to design in the traditional sense.

Here are just 12 of these influences.

  1. The location where the department has determined the greatest need exists.
  2. Call volume, types of calls and the 4-minute response model.
  3. The demographics of the location (industrial, residential, commercial, rural, etc.).
  4. Based on the demographic, what apparatus is intended for this location, how many bays and how many staff are potentially being housed – what is the 100-year projection?
  5. Will this project need to be phased?
  6. How much money is available for the project; how much more is needed?
  7. When is a good time to move forward and advertise the project?
  8. Are there any contributing funding sources?
  9. Has the department acquired the equipment for the new facility?
  10. Has the department hired the staff for the new facility?
  11. Will the station be only a fire station or can other public safety entities be included?
  12. Which entity is the driving force behind the project (the fire department, the municipality, both)?

There are other areas to consider. The list above is just the start of the process needed to begin the fundamental framework of the design for a new fire station. Other areas to include are the local and regional climate – what is the weather like year round where the project is to occur? And are building materials readily available?