This facility received a Satellite Silver Award in Firehouse's 2018 Station Design Awards. Find the full list of winners here.
The design team welcomed the opportunity to renew their relationship with Fort Bend County ESD No. 2 for their new Fire Station No. 3. Wanting to have consistent designs and layouts between stations, Station No. 3 is a site adaptation of the previously completed Willowfork Fire Station No. 2. By using similar designs, the department hopes to make transitioning between stations easier on staff as well as create a consistent aesthetic image/style that helps citizens easily identify the stations.
The 2.35-acre triangular site is located in a mainly residential neighborhood across the street from a daycare center and future apartment complex. The station is designed to sleep four shifts of seven people, and all necessary support spaces are located on the first floor. Staff has a straight shot from the dormitories to the apparatus bay, and an open concept dayroom, kitchen and dining open out to a covered patio with grill.
In the future, the department plans to partner with a separate EMS company; therefore, the weight room was designed to be converted to a dedicated space for the paramedics with its own living, sleeping and bathing facility. In the meantime, the weight room will be relocated to the climate-controlled storage space on the second floor.
Built to withstand hurricane winds, the new station features a unique double-door system in the bays that allows for the openness and transparency of glazed sectional doors with the added protection and durability of roll-up galvanized steel doors.
The 13,392 square-foot station meets the new ADA standards and is a welcomed addition to the community and fire department. Its low-maintenance and durable finishes are a wise use of the taxpayers’ funds and also help to protect and bring comfort to the staff of people that protect this community.
Architect/Firm Name: Brown Reynolds Watford Architects.
